The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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LEADER PAGE  Friday   1  , March

Everyone’s duty to close this cruel chapter next week

3/1/02 10:29:18 AM (GMT +2)


By Rodgers Svovah

RECENT events in Zimbabwe have prompted me to write about the unfortunate
youths being trained as sadists at the equally sadistic centre known by
former minister Border Gezi’s name.

My understanding is that Zimbabwe is one African country with a highly
educated populace with a literacy rate of more than 85 percent.

Many colleagues are puzzled at what type of people Zimbabweans are.

It would seem educated as Zimbabweans are, they cannot think on their own,
allowing themselves to be set upon each other like dogs.

They can stop these barbaric acts.

What surprises me is that Zimbabweans are by far a more sophisticated and
educated people than some of our neighbours, but look at their behaviour Ð
it is the complete opposite.

In Botswana, for instance, they do not care what party one belongs to.
Two people can freely move together, one wearing a T-shirt for the ruling
party and the other a T-shirt for the main opposition party.

When it comes to choosing an MP, all they do is to openly discuss who the
better candidate is.

This discussion takes place everywhere Ð in pubs, market places and commuter
buses.

What do our own educated people do? Fight each other, slit each other’s
throats and stomachs Ð a 15th century scene being re-enacted in the 21st
century. What a shame!

Many will recall Kamuzu Banda’s Young Pioneers who were in many aspects
similar to the Border Gezi-trained Youth Brigade.

They were specifically formed to strengthen Banda’s grip on power at all
costs. They were given specific instructions to torture and kill people with
opposing views.

Having said all this, the choice is with Zimbabweans Ð whether to allow the
a sadist to continue tormenting them or to put an end to this sad chapter of
our history.

To the general populace of Zimbabwe, I say you and only you alone know who
you shall vote for.

Do not succumb to intimidation.

Our country is like a beautiful lady married to a very cruel man who
systematically beats her, underfeeds her and subjects her to all forms of
humiliation.

Zimbabwean voters have a choice next week.

There is a handsome man beckoning them to come and enjoy life like any other
citizens of the world.

Some of us are not able to vote this time around by virtue of being resident
in foreign countries, but we hope to come back to a better Zimbabwe after
our tour of duty.

Let the land be redistributed with the support of the whole world Ð Britain,
South Africa, Australia, Canada, the United States and even Afghanistan and
Somalia. This way, there will be no suspicions of thuggery or cronyism.

Who said the land could only be apportioned by Mugabe and/or his so-called
21-year-old war veterans?

It is the duty of every sane Zimbabwean to put an end to this shameful
episode.

Indeed we need to save our dignity which is being trampled upon by those
ordering us to produce Zanu PF membership cards as soon as we step out of
our homes; or to produce national identity cards as was the case in colonial
Rhodesia.

We do not need to be subjected to beatings in full view of the police if we
do not chant Zanu PF slogans.

This is as ridiculous as it is shameful. A big full stop should be put to
this come 9 -10 March.

People in the rural areas should not be intimidated by being told that there
will be war if Zanu PF loses.

That is a big lie. What war? Being fought by who?

Those militias cannot wage a war successfully. Every Zimbabwean is now
desperate for change, including those in the army, the police and the prison
service.

They all need change yesterday.

Not all of them enjoy being used against their parents, to kill their
brothers, to rape their sisters and to terrorise their own communities.

The police force has been turned against the community that it is meant to
protect.

No wonder people are resorting to meting out instant justice to each other
because the police cannot be relied upon to take action against members of
the ruling party.

I nevertheless implore you, my learned brothers, sisters and parents, to
stop sending each other into extinction to the delight of a few selfish
politicians.

To the white community of Zimbabwe, I say you should never be intimated.

Your home is Zimbabwe and not Britain as is being suggested.

Together we will soon be rebuilding our country.

Together we will soon be leading Zimbabwe back to its rightful position in
world affairs.

Together we will soon start to build a better inheritance for our children.
Let us all pray to God to again let His wisdom shine upon all of us as we
march towards the presidential election so that we cast our votes under the
guidance of His Holy Spirit.

One thing I know is that it is not God’s wish to have His children suffer
the way Zimbabweans are suffering at the moment
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Daily News


LEADER PAGE  Friday   1  , March

Voters must get their papers and go to polling stations

3/1/02 10:28:41 AM (GMT +2)



THE government is unwilling to let all Zimbabweans exercise their right to
vote during next weekend’s presidential poll because it does not believe all
the voters will be behind it.

But every Zimbabwean who is eligible to vote must just go and vote.

The decision to reduce the number of polling stations in urban areas is an
attempt to reduce the influence of the opposition in areas where they are
stronger than Zanu PF, while the disenfranchisement of white voters is
another evil plot to ensure they do not exercise their rights.

The government proposes to reduce the number of polling stations in cities,
where the opposition has more support, while increasing the number in areas
where the ruling party enjoys greater support.

The idea is to frustrate support for the opposition by ensuring that not all
of them get to cast their votes, while expecting the move to enhance the
electoral prospects of Zanu PF, whose candidate is President Mugabe.

In the government’s thinking, all white voters will support the opposition
MDC candidate, which is why they are being notified they cannot vote next
weekend.

Many white voters, among them the former prime minister of Southern
Rhodesia, Sir Garfield Todd, were surprised to receive correspondence from
the Registrar-General informing them that suddenly they had lost the right
to vote and could not, therefore, expect to participate in the poll.

But if the government is allowed to get away with such daylight robbery, the
next victims will be voters it deems to be either of Malawian, Zambian,
Mozambican or South African origin, depending on the level of its paranoia.
This is why all these manoeuvres must be stopped.

It is important for all the political parties, including even those not
intending to contest the presidential election, and non-governmental
organisations involved in voter education to encourage everyone eligible to
vote to take all their particulars and turn up at their polling stations.

If it is the government’s intention to deny the vote to its citizens, then
let history record that in 2002 more voters than those who eventually voted
were denied the right to do so by this government.

It is important that the observers witness how the government intends to
predetermine the outcome of this election by ensuring that those whose
support it is uncertain of are deprived of their right to vote.

If all the people who are eligible to vote turn up but are then turned away
because of the government’s chicanery, and if at the end of the day more
people are turned away than those who vote, there will be legitimate grounds
for contesting the result in the courts.

In fact, this is precisely one of the reasons being raised by those
contesting the outcome of the June 2000 parliamentary election. Of
particular note is Zanu PF’s Phineas Chihota, who has told the courts he
lost the Seke seat to Bennie Tumbare-Mutasa of the MDC because many of his
supporters were turned away on polling day by officials of the
Registrar-General’s Office.

While all political parties must restrain their followers from conducting
violent campaigns, the pronouncements by the Minister of Home Affairs and
the Commissioner of Police on clamping down on violence must be seen for
what they are Ð pandering to the gallery of international and regional
observers now in the country.

If the Minister and his government, and the Police Commissioner were serious
about dealing with violence, Zimbabwe would not have descended to such a
state of lawlessness that ruling party thugs have the temerity to attack
election observers.

The government is the one dictating who the police should arrest and who
they should not. One day, they will all have to answer for their actions.

But for now, everyone must just get their identity documents and go and
vote. This is what happened in 1980.

Let’s see who has the courage to impede the march towards democracy.
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Daily News


MDC campaign rally to go ahead as police lift ban

3/1/02 9:46:51 AM (GMT +2)


Staff Reporter

THE MDC star rally scheduled for this Sunday at the Zimbabwe Grounds will go
ahead as initially agreed between the party and the police.

This follows yesterday’s decision by the police in Harare to lift the ban
they had unilaterally imposed on the MDC.

Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, will address the campaign rally ahead of
next week’s presidential election.

In a letter addressed to Harare lawyer, Innocent Chagonda of Atherstone and
Cook, representing the MDC, Chief Superintendent Mfandaidza said the rally
would go ahead as originally scheduled.

But he indicated that the conditions set by the police under the Public
Order and Security Act, would still apply.

The conditions include a prohibition on the bussing of people, toyi-toying,
obstruction of traffic and door-to-door campaigns.

The MDC lawyer said yesterday that he was still pressing ahead with the
court application so that he could obtain a written consent order from the
High Court.

Chagonda yesterday placed before the High Court Judge President, Paddington
Garwe, copies of the letters from the police in which they granted
permission to the MDC to go ahead with their rally.

Chagonda said he wanted the consent order from the High Court because he did
not have total faith in the police, particularly after they had decided to
impose a ban in suspicious circumstances last week.

It could not be ascertained by late yesterday afternoon whether the Bulawayo
rally at the White City Stadium would take place.

The police had also cancelled the Bulawayo rally alleging that Mugabe wanted
to use the facility.

But the Bulawayo City Council has refused to allow Zanu PF to use the
stadium because the party did not book the stadium before the MDC.

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Daily News

Muzenda suffers stroke

3/1/02 9:45:45 AM (GMT +2)


Staff Reporter

VICE-President Simon Muzenda, 79, has apparently suffered a stroke, which
has affected part of his brain.

Sources said Muzenda is confined to his rural home in Zvavahera, Gutu, where
he is being attended to round-the-clock by a team of physiotherapists.

“He is always being shuttled between his two homes and the President has
reportedly given an instruction that he is to be taken wherever he wants,”
one source said.

Because of the partial damage to his brain, the doctors had given strict
instructions for him not to speak to the public, the sources said.

It could not be established last night when Muzenda suffered the stroke, but
he has rarely appeared in public in the past month.
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Daily News

Terror spreads

3/1/02 10:40:35 AM (GMT +2)


By Columbus Mavhunga, Chris Gande and Sam Munyavi

Several people were injured or displaced in gruesome cases of violence and
torture throughout the country this week, despite claims by Kaire Mbuende,
the head of the Namibian election observer mission, that the independent
Press was exaggerating the incidence of violence.

One person was killed as violence intensified in Nkayi, Hwedza and Marondera
this week.

In Nkayi, the police yesterday morning discovered the charred remains of an
MDC activist, Newman Bhebhe, abducted by a group of war veterans and former
dissidents.

In Marondera, two men are fighting for their lives after being tortured by
seven Zanu PF youths who left them for dead at a base behind Marondera High
School early on Monday.

Their assailants used knives to brand the inscription, MDC, on their backs.
One person escaped death in Hwedza after he was shot on the arm by a group
of Zanu PF youths.

These incidents are in sharp contrast to Mbuende’s assertions that violence
was on the decline ahead of the 9-10 March presidential election.

Mbuende told journalists in Harare this week: “It is our considered view
that the prevalence of violence is exaggerated. This is unfortunate as
exaggeration of anything tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

The MDC dismissed Mbuende’s statement as “most unfortunate and uncalled for”
.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) described the utterances as
“nauseating and irritating”.

Lovemore Matombo, the ZCTU president, said similar spurious statements had
been made by the Southern African Development Community foreign ministers.

He said: “We are sick and tired of these people. We, Zimbabweans, are being
beaten, raped, tortured and killed. We know the situation better than they
do.”

Matombo said the president of the Civil Service Employees’ Association,
Ephraim Tapa, and his wife were still missing yesterday after they were
abducted by Zanu PF supporters two weeks ago in Mutoko.

Meanwhile, Sydney Sekeramayi, the MP for Marondera East and Minister of
Defence, denied there was violence in the town after he addressed a meeting
there on Sunday.

Sekeramayi is alleged to have called for a search “for the culprits” behind
the burning of a Zanu PF car last week.

“He said substantial rewards would be offered to those who would have done
the job,” said a resident.

One victim of the alleged violence said: “They knocked on the door around
2am and when I came out they dragged me into a car and took me to Ôkwashefu
camp’ where they beat me and others and cut us with knives.”

He received more than 30 stitches on his back and face.

Others sustained burns on their buttocks but would not recall how they were
inflicted as they had passed out.

They were later dumped near Marondera High School behind the torture camp.

Bopoto Nyandoro, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Victims Rehabilitation Support
Network in Marondera, said several people had approached his office after
fleeing from the terror.

“It is mostly MDC supporters who are on the receiving end,” said Nyandoro.
Last week, James Sibanda, a village head in Nkayi, was murdered by a group
of war veterans who accused him of supporting the MDC.

Several schools in Nkayi have been closed after teachers were assaulted by
war veterans.

In Bulawayo, a man was stoned to death at a nightclub on Tuesday.
Eight Zanu PF members were arrested in connection with the incident.

Witnesses said the incident started after the eight party members ordered
two men sharing a mug of opaque beer to show them their Zanu PF party
membership and national identity cards.

One told them he had left his particulars at home.

The youths then kicked the beer mug, spilling the beer, and a fight ensued.
Inspector Mthokozisi Manzini Moyo, the police spokesman in Bulawayo, refused
to comment.
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Telegraph

Blair predicts Mugabe's defeat
(Filed: 01/03/2002)


TONY BLAIR is predicting a close-fought battle in Zimbabwe's controversial
elections.

The Prime Minister says opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai could defeat
President Robert Mugabe in the contest next week. And Mr Blair has urged
"strong and unequivocal" support from the international community for the
Movement for Democratic Change if it succeeds in ousting Mr Mugabe.

His comments came as he flew out for the Commonwealth summit, which opens in
Coolum, near Brisbane, Australia. Mr Blair said the meeting must send "a
strong statement in support of democratic and fair elections, whether it is
in Zimbabwe or anywhere else".

He added: "It's important to make it quite clear that if the opposition do
win in Zimbabwe they are given strong and unequivocal support and any
attempt to interfere with the results would be an outrage to the democratic
principles of the Commonwealth.

"There obviously has been a high level of intimidation but it does appear
that the opposition enjoys considerable support. The sense that I have is
that it's more open than people might have thought a few weeks ago."

Mr Blair has accepted that Britain's view that Zimbabwe should be suspended
from the Commonwealth will not prevail at the summit, which lasts until
Tuesday.

But he wants a "strong signal" sent to Mr Mugabe that the election of March
9-10 must be seen to be free and fair.
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Zimbabwe Independent


Church meeting turned into Zanu PF campaign rally
Blessing Zulu/ Loughty Dube

THE ruling Zanu PF's campaign to lure Christians into their fold moved to
Bulawayo last weekend as Vice-President Joseph Msika took to the pulpit to
slur the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

The "prayer meeting" at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair grounds was
little more than a Zanu PF campaign rally featuring the usual rhetoric about
land and attacks on MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai. A similar gathering was
held at the Chibuku Stadium in Chitungwiza.

At the Bulawayo Trade Fair Grounds the prayer meeting began on a serene note
in the morning but turned into a political gala when Msika, Zanu PF
politburo member Dumiso Dabengwa, and the party's provincial chairman for
Bulawayo, Jabulani Sibanda, took turns at the podium to attack Tsvangirai.

"This country was liberated through blood and we will not allow Tsvangirai
to sell it to the British," said Msika.

"I would like to warn you that God does not support change of governments
and I urge you to stand behind President Mugabe during the election. He was
put in that position by the Almighty Lord," he said to chants of approval
from hundreds of youths bussed in to swell the numbers.

When some unsuspecting Christians, shocked by the crude political slogans,
tried to leave the meeting, they were barred by Zanu PF militia who blocked
the exits.

"How can you vote for someone who wants to kill the president of our
country?" Msika asked his captive "congregation".

"Tsvangirai is a fool and a stooge of the white man and we should stick to
teachings of the Bible when we vote because Mugabe was ordained by God and
therefore we should not change what God has put together for us."

All mainstream denominations in Bulawayo boycotted the meeting dubbed "the
national day of pray-er". The Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist,
Presbyterian, Evangelical, Baptist and Pentecostal churches refused to
attend the meeting whose invitations were printed on Youth, Development,
Gender and Employment Creation ministry letterheads.

Instead they opted to attend a Christian Communications Association
gathering in Matopo, 100km south of Bulawayo.

Churches that attended the function included the Apostolic Sect, Guta
RaMwari and the Salvation Army.

Things heated up when Bulawayo province Zanu PF chairman Sibanda took to the
podium - Bible in hand - to recite the anti-Tsvangirai message.

Sibanda quoted from the Bible supporting the government's land reform
programme.
"God gave you land so that you can better your lives and that is what he is
doing through President Mugabe's land reform. Do not be fooled by Tsvangirai
and his white racists," said Sibanda to applause from the youths, most of
whom wore Zanu PF T-shirts.

Other church leaders took turns with the seasoned politicians to blast the
MDC and its leader.

During proceedings a pastor with Guta Ra-Mwari asked the master of
ceremonies to ask church leaders to introduce themselves and the
denominations they represented but he was curtly told by the MC that it was
not necessary for them to do so.

"We do not know most of these pastors and we want to know which churches
they are from," fumed the pastor to no avail.

Church leaders who spoke to the Zimbabwe Independent after the function said
they did not know Pastor Gabriel Msindo, the organiser of the function.

"These people are dubious Christians. This Msindo is said to be from
Bulawayo but we do not know him nor do we know his denomination. We only saw
him when he came to hand out invitations. These people are hypocrites," said
one pastor.

The Youth ministry supplied instruments and the public address system used
at the function.

In Chitungwiza, the representative of the interdenominational churches,
Reverend Patrick Chisvo, praised Mugabe's land reform but did not condemn
the violence that it has brought.

"Christ came to save, not only the spirit, but the whole person and people
must be given land so that they may worship God without restraint," said
Chisvo.

Johane Masowe WeChishanu Apostolic sect leader, Madzibaba Godfrey Nzira, was
scheduled to address the gathering but failed to turn up. White-clad members
of his church though were present at the prayer meeting.

The guest of honour at the meeting was Zanu PF's mayoral aspirant, Joseph
Macheka.

Amos Midzi, the Zanu PF Harare mayoral candidate who has been pitted against
the MDC's Elias Mudzuri, and Billet Magara of the National Alliance for Good
Governance, also attended the meeting.

Prayer meetings are the brain-child of Minister of Youth Development, Gender
and Employment Creation, Elliot Manyika.

The first prayer meeting was attended by close to 5 000 people at the Harare
International Conference Centre in Harare in January. In Chitungwiza, the
turnout was about
1 500.

The ruling party's most prominent recruit has been Anglican bishop Norbert
Kunonga who claimed Mugabe was more Christ-an than him and set the tone with
his strident support for the chaotic and violent land reform programme.

"There must be total control of land and industries from aliens to
indigenous Zimbabweans," Kunonga said then.

This week Anglican Justice, Peace and Reconciliation Committee chair George
Wauchope was quoted in the press as saying Kunonga's links to Zanu PF dated
from before he became bishop. He said Kunonga had a democratic right to hold
such views.
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Zimbabwe Independent

Government sets up 146 militia bases


THE opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has exposed 146 Zanu PF
militia bases around the country ahead of next weekend's presidential
election.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai told international election observers on
Tuesday at a closed-door meeting that political gangs were on the rampage.


"The government and indeed the ruling party has various militia bases
throughout the country," he said. "We will give you details of the bases of
armed bands of rogue elements in Zanu PF. They are terrorising people and
will be frog-marching voters to polling stations."


The bases are located in Mashonaland Central (40), Matabeleland North (29),
Mashonaland West (23), Masvingo (13), Bulawayo (13), Mashonaland East (9),
Manicaland (9), Chitungwiza (9), Mashonaland East (6), and Harare (5).


In Masvingo, Gutu political heavyweights Vice-President Simon Muzenda and
deputy Minister of Youth Development, Gender and Employment Creation, Shuvai
Mahofa, have intensified Zanu PF's violent poll campaign.


The Zimbabwe Independent has learnt that party militias are camped at
Muzenda's Paradise Park Motel which they have turned into their main base of
operations. They are transported to various parts of Gutu North and South to
beat up MDC supporters. Muzenda's security company, Expert Securities,
transports the youths in navy blue trucks. Mahofa is allegedly feeding the
militias.


"Two beasts are slaughtered a week to feed the marauding youths. About 15
animals have already been slaughtered," a source said.


The cattle are being taken from nearby farmers.


The youths have been camped at Paradise Park Motel for the past month. They
have forced the temporary closure of six schools in the two constituencies
and imposed curfews at the growth point. The schools affected include
Chatikobo, Soti Source, Machingambi primary and secondary and Chitsa primary
and secondary. More than 70 teachers have fled the area. At Mukaro Mission
the militias last week picked up 10 teachers suspected of being MDC
sympathisers.


"The fate of the teachers is not known but we are told that they might not
come back to the school," sources said.


Last week at Domborembavha secondary school the militias sent the headmaster
scurrying for his life before they looted household property worth more than
$500 000.


At Magombedze, Nyamandi and other surrounding schools, teachers have been
severely beaten and threatened with death if their abduction is leaked to
the press.


"I cannot go back to the school before the election because they promised to
kill me if I am seen in the area," one teacher from Machingambi Secondary
School said.


In Gutu South, training camps have been established at Mutambwi secondary
school, Munjanganja School, Manhede School, and Mawere township as well as
Basera growth point.


Zanu PF is offering a $200 incentive to local youths to join the training
programme. However, no payments have been received a month later.


"Every time we ask for the money, they always say Mai Mahofa will bring it
when she comes to address rallies in the area," one of the militiamen
said. - Staff writers
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The Times

March 01, 2002

Zimbabwe sanctions must wait
By David Charter, Chief Political Correspondent



IT WILL be impossible to agree on immediate sanctions against Zimbabwe at
this weekend’s biennial meeting of Commonwealth leaders in Australia, Tony
Blair admitted yesterday.
The heads of the 54 Commonwealth nations were too divided to agree on
measures against the regime of Robert Mugabe while elections are on-going,
but will make a commitment to judging Zimbabwe once the outcome is known, Mr
Blair said.

The Prime Minister warned however, that if Morgan Tsvangirai, Mr Mugabe’s
main opponent, was prevented from taking part in the Zimbabwe poll on March
9-10, the Commonwealth would be galvanised into immediate action.

He said: “I have no doubt at all that whatever disagreement there may be in
the Commonwealth about sanctions in respect of Zimbabwe, if anything as
outrageous as that happened then the Commonwealth will pull together.”


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ABC News

Zimbabwe Rivals Go Head-To-Head in Key City




March 1
— By Cris Chinaka

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's main presidential rivals kick off
the final week of an often violent election campaign just a few miles from
each other on Saturday at major rallies in the key southern battleground of
Bulawayo.

International involvement in the hotly contested polls, set for March 9-10,
also nears its climax as the Commonwealth considers at a summit in Australia
what to do about the southern African country led by President Robert
Mugabe.

Mugabe, whose ruling ZANU-PF party lost Bulawayo to the opposition in 2000
parliamentary elections, will address supporters at the city's Barbour
Fields stadium on Saturday. Less than three miles away, Morgan Tsvangirai,
leader of the Movement for Democratic Change and Mugabe's strongest
challenger in 22 years of power, will speak at White City stadium.

Mkanyiso Maqeda, an MDC spokesman, said he hoped there would be no problems
between the two groups. There were no signs of extra security in the city
the night before the rallies.

But the state Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corp reported clashes in the city on
Friday, following the burial of a ZANU-PF activist, and said a car belonging
to an MDC supporter was burned.

Bulawayo has seen previous clashes between MDC and ZANU-PF supporters. Last
November, they fought pitched street battles after the death of a liberation
war veteran leader, which ZANU-PF blamed on the MDC.

"Our hope is that both of us can campaign in this city at the same time
without any problems," said Maqeda.

The international community outside Africa has accused Mugabe and his
followers of instigating a wave of violence against Tsvangirai supporters
ahead of what are expected to be the hardest fought elections since
independence in 1980.

But neighbor South Africa, facing a flood of refugees fleeing Zimbabwe's
growing political and economic turmoil, said this week that both political
parties were to blame.

FOOD SHORTAGE

In Rome, the United Nations warned on Friday that half a million Zimbabweans
are desperately hungry. The country has been hit by drought and an economic
crisis fueled by the state seizure of white-owned farms for black
resettlement.

"Food stocks are insufficient to carry through to the harvest," Gary Howe,
director for eastern and southern Africa of the Rome-based U.N.
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) told Reuters.

The 54-nation Commonwealth of mainly British ex-colonies, including Britain
and Zimbabwe, will consider what action to take against Zimbabwe at a
four-day summit.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has called for immediate Commonwealth
sanctions, but Secretary-General Don McKinnon has hinted no punitive
measures would be taken until after polls.

The United States and European Union slapped sanctions on the Zimbabwe
president's inner circle last month.

Blair last week accused Mugabe of acting like a dictator. Mugabe hit back,
telling Zimbabwe's ex-colonial rulers to "go to hell" and not to "stick
their pink noses in our business."

The MDC said on Friday it had canceled a rally in the east town of Marondera
after pro-government militias attacked its supporters and following reports
Tsvangirai would be harmed.

The MDC says at least 107 of its supporters and activists have been killed
in political violence that began ahead of June 2000 parliamentary elections
narrowly won by Mugabe's ZANU-PF.

Last week, independent South African observers were caught up in the
violence, when 200 pro-government militias armed with stones and iron bars
holed them up in an MDC office.

South African border patrols have said a steady stream of immigrants are
braving crocodiles, barbed wire fences and almost certain deportation to
escape Zimbabwe, where food is scarce and prices have been soaring.
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THE FOLLOWING IS AN APPEAL ORIGINATING FROM THE NORTH. - THE SOUTH ALSO NEEDS ASSISTANCE. IF YOU ARE IN A POSITION TO HELP IN THE MIDLANDS, MASVINGO, MAT. NORTH AND SOUTH OR BULAWAWO, PLEASE RESPOND TO THE ADDRESS INDICATED BELOW.

TIME TO CHANGE THE PRESIDENT

If we change the President then we will effectively change the Government. Zimbabwe deserves a better Government. It is time for people of all races to fully claim their rights as citizens of this land. We are all Zimbabweans together. It is important now, in the time of fear ,to choose courage. Then, when the change happens we will be able to feel proud again. If we sit stubbornly on the fence then we will feel nothing.

Make sure that you and all your friends stay and VOTE.

Further, is vital that all those who have the ability, courage, and desire to contribute in some way to these two days of our lives are given an opportunity to do so. These two days will either determine a new beginning, or the end, for most skilled peoples' lives in this country.

SOUTHERN RESOURCE DATA BASE FOR ELECTIONS MARCH 9/10

We need to know what you can offer

As a guide in rough terms we need to:

So most important we need you, and your vehicle(s) (indicate with or without driver),:Also fuel. would help.

There are other jobs to do as well.

If you are willing to operate outside of your own constituency, then indicate whether you are happy to operate in a communal constituency.

Name................................................................

Phone no........................................................

e-mail..............................................................

Constituency.........................

Are you happy to operate outside your constituency?

What would you like to offer.? Any particular skills?

...................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................

Please reply to lanonlin@gatorzw.com or thebakery@netconnect.co.zw or phone 091 244 707

Please also immediately forward this to all local addresses.

Please print this out for friends without e-mail

A separate request is made of you. In order to contribute to the audit of

the voters roll, please send the names/ID no. and year of death of anyone

you knew who died recently, to topper@mweb.co.zw

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TRIPARTITE VOTE

Voters in Harare and Chitungwiza could be faced with a ballot dilemma on the
9th and 10th of next month. Residents of Harare and Chitungwiza will vote in
municipal elections on the same dates that they will vote in the
presidential elections. It means therefore, for one to be able to vote in
both elections, they will have to vote not only within their constituency
but also within their ward as well. This is bound to disenfranchise
thousands of voters. If one votes in their constituency but outside their
ward they can only vote for a president and will not be able to vote for a
mayor or councillor. It is believed that the alleged reduction of polling
stations in urban centres and the above requirement will result in long
queues at polling stations in the town and will frustrate voters. It is
suspected that voters will be issued with three ballot papers and that three
ballot boxes will available at polling stations in Harare and Chitungwiza.
This puts the voter at the risk of confusing ballot papers and boxes thereby
invalidating their vote by dropping their ballots in the wrong box. Since
only the national voters' role is used in the polls, it therefore means that
if an individual is resident in Harare or Chitungwiza but is not on the
national voters' role for whatever reason, they lose the right to vote in
the municipal elections.
Officials from the Electoral Supervisory Commission, contacted for comment,
said they would brief the public on how they will conduct the vote tomorrow
evening.  An official from Transparency International Zimbabwe said that
this was a deliberate way to either disenfranchise voters or frustrate their
right to vote.
The Newsroom
mamba@zol.co.zw
091-258-525
023-405-267
091-337-694
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ELECTION HELP LINES AS ADVERTISED IN THE PRESS

1.    DO YOU NEED TO CHECK THE VOTERS' ROLL?

                Phone:    091-241156
                               091-241157    
       If possible please try to identify your constituency to avoid delays.

2.     ARE YOU A VICTIM OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND INTIMIDATION?

                Phone:        091-244703
                                  091-244705
                                   091-244707
        
        Before calling these numbers make sure your have done the following:-

         i)    reported the matter to your nearest police station.
        ii)    obtained and recorded the docket number.

        Such reports will be co-ordinated with all interested parties/organisations.
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