The ZIMBABWE Situation
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Late July it is...
IOL
May 15 2008 at
07:44PM
By ANGUS SHAW
Harare - The presidential
run-off between President Robert Mugabe and
opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai will be held by July 31, election
officials said - but the
opposition insisted Thursday that it should be next
week.
An
official government notice issued late Wednesday extended the
deadline for
holding the run-off to 90 days - beyond the legally required 21
days -after
the release of election results, The Herald newspaper, a
government
mouthpiece, reported Thursday.
Tendai Biti, secretary-general for
Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), called that decision
"irresponsible."
"This country cannot afford 90 days" of more
violence and instability
and deteriorating economic conditions, he said
Thursday.
The electoral commission notice said Justice Minister
Patrick
Chinamasa is empowered under election laws to extend the original
21-day
period for a runoff to 90 days. The original 21 days would end May
24. The
opposition has called for a runoff on May 23.
Tsvangirai claims he won the March 29 presidential race outright,
beating
Mugabe and two other candidates. But official results released May
2, more
than a month after the poll, show he did not win enough votes to
avoid a
second round against Mugabe.
The opposition and local and
international human rights groups have
accused Mugabe's party of using
delays to mount a campaign of violence and
intimidation against opposition
supporters.
Biti, speaking to reporters in Johannesburg, South
Africa, said
violence was intensifying and now affecting "some of the key
pillars of our
structure." His party said in a statement Thursday that 33 of
its supporters
and activists had been killed in postelection
violence.
In a statement Thursday, Amnesty International Zimbabwe
researcher
Simeon Mawanza expressed particular concern about people in
remote rural
areas.
"The situation for these victims of
violence is dire," Mawanza said.
"Humanitarian organizations and local
non-governmental organizations are
being targeted for helping victims, who
are being blocked from receiving
medical assistance."
Biti
called on the Southern African Development Community to hold an
emergency
summit to address the opposition's call for a runoff by May 23 and
for the
regional organization to guarantee security, fairness and freedom of
the
vote.
He noted recent attacks on Zimbabweans and other foreigners
in South
Africa, saying they had shown Zimbabwe's turmoil was a regional
issue.
Zimbabweans appear to be the target of recent xenophobic
attacks in
and around Johannesburg, which has seen the greatest influx of
Zimbabweans
as the situation in their country declines.
South
Africa, the region's economic powerhouse, has drawn immigrants
from
elsewhere on the continent for decades. The influx has been accompanied
by
sporadic violence against foreigners, and the number of such attacks has
risen as South Africans grow frustrated by unemployment and lack of
services.
"The Zimbabwe crisis has to be resolved so that the
Zimbabweans...in
every slum in South Africa can go back to Zimbabwe where
they can start
their new lives," Biti said.
He said the
opposition remained determined to participate in the
runoff. He also said he
and Tsvangirai, who have been out of the country
since shortly after the
March 29 election, would soon be returning to
Zimbabwe.
Biti
noted that this weekend, his party planned a campaign rally and a
caucus of
members elected to parliament, indicating Tsvangirai would be in
Zimbabwe
for those events. He said he would return some time after
Tsvangirai.
Tsvangirai's party won control of parliament in
legislative elections
held alongside the presidential vote. It was the first
time since
independence that Mugabe's party lost control of
parliament.
The US state department reiterated its call for a free
and fair vote.
"It will be up to us, as well as, in particular, friends and
neighbors of
Zimbabwe in the region, to keep the pressure on the Zimbabwean
electoral
commission and officials in Zimbabwe to create the atmosphere that
will
allow for a free and fair runoff," spokesman Sean McCormack said in
Washington.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's central bank unveiled a new
half-billion
Zimbabwean dollar bank note Thursday.
The new bill
and three others for 5-billion, 25-billion and 50-billion
Zimbabwe dollars,
called "special agro" checks intended for purchases and
sales involved in
farm production, were going into circulation next Tuesday,
the central bank
said.
Earlier this month, the bank floated the local currency
exchange rate
through commercial banks, where a single US dollar sold
Wednesday for around
240-million Zimbabwe dollars, slightly higher than the
dominant black market
rate for hard currency.
That change saw
prices of goods soar, with unofficial estimates
putting annual inflation at
more than 700 000 percent.
Official inflation was given in February
at 165 000 percent, and no
further official figures have been
released.
"Prices are now doubling every week instead of every
month, and it is
hard to see how we can survive to the end of June or how an
election will be
feasible at all if things continue to deteriorate at this
pace," Harare
economist John Robertson said.
The central bank
said the "agro" checks, similar in appearance to the
nation's existing range
of bills, will be accepted by retailers and banks up
to the end of the
year.
The previous highest denomination bill was for 250-million
Zimbabwe
dollars (US$1), enough to buy about two loaves of bread. -
Sapa-AP
Zim opposition furious at run-off
delay
Mail and Guardian
Fanuel Jongwe | Harare, Zimbabwe
15 May
2008 02:20
Zimbabwe's opposition reacted furiously on
Thursday to the
prospect of a run-off poll being delayed until the end of
July, accusing
authorities of flouting the law to help President Robert
Mugabe cling to
power.
As the government confirmed the
second round of a presidential
election would not take place next week as
scheduled, the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) feared the delay would
be used to intensify a
campaign of violence and intimidation after Mugabe's
first-round defeat.
Under the terms of the electoral law, the
run-off between MDC
leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Mugabe should take place
within three weeks of
the announcement of results from the first round,
which came on May 2.
However, according to an extraordinary
government gazette due to
be published on Thursday but read out to Agence
France-Presse by a source
close to the printers, the period has been
extended from 21 days to 90 days.
The move means the run-off
can now take place as late as July 31
rather than by the scheduled May 23
deadline.
The MDC's deputy secretary for legal affairs,
Jessie Majome,
said the extension was a ploy to perpetuate Mugabe's 28-year
stay in power.
"This is rigging taking place and it's
blatantly unlawful,"
Majome said.
"All these are tricks
being used by Zanu-PF to hold on to power
and continue what they are doing
in their offices, and whatever they are
doing they are up to no
good.
"Zanu-PF will use the 90 days to maim and kill and this
extension is an extension of the suffering of the people of
Zimbabwe."
The MDC says at least 32 of its supporters have
been killed by
Mugabe followers since the first round took place on March
29.
'There is no legal remedy'
While the
elections themselves passed off peacefully, there has
since been a steady
rise in the levels of violence, which the United Nations
warned this week
could reach crisis proportions.
Much of the violence has been
in the countryside, a traditional
stronghold for Mugabe but where he did
worse than expected on March 29, and
the MDC fears voters will be too scared
to cast their ballot in the event of
a lengthy delay.
Tsvangirai, who beat Mugabe in the first round but fell just
short of an
overall majority, said last weekend any election held after May
23 would be
illegitimate.
However, one of Mugabe's senior lieutenants
said that the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) -- whose leadership is
appointed by the
president -- was acting within its rights by pushing back
the run-off.
"It is lawful and the ZEC has the authority to
extend any period
of an election in terms of the law and not what is being
claimed by the
MDC," Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Patrick
Chinamasa was
quoted as saying by the state-run Herald
newspaper.
Lovemore Madhuku, a leading constitutional lawyer,
said the
delay had no legal basis but the opposition could do little about
it.
"It's unlawful, it's very unlawful ... but there is no
legal
remedy," he said.
"If you take them to court, the
court will likely take 90 days
to determine the matter."
The commission took nearly five weeks to announce the results of
the
presidential election, held on the same day as parliamentary polls in
which
the MDC wrested control of the House of Assembly from the ruling
Zanu-PF for
the first time.
The 84-year-old Mugabe, Africa's oldest
leader, has ruled the
former British colony since independence in
1980.
Seen as a post-colonial success story in the first
decade-and-a-half after independence, Zimbabwe's economy has been in
freefall since Mugabe embarked on a land-reform programme, which saw
thousands of white-owned farms expropriated.
Eighty
percent of the workforce is unemployed while the official
inflation rate is
165 000% -- the highest in the world.
The extent of the chaos
was underlined on Thursday with the
introduction of a new Z$500-million
banknote in a bid to tackle cash
shortages. -- AFP
MDC demands regional summit on Zimbabwe; says 40
killed leader arrested
Monsters and Critics
May 15, 2008, 16:42
GMT
Johannesburg/Harare - Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for
Democratic Change
(MDC) on Thursday called for an urgent summit of the
Southern African
Development Community (SADC) to hash out conditions for a
run-off
presidential election.
Accusing the 14-nation southern
African grouping of failing to provide
leadership in Zimbabwe's
post-election 'madness' MDC Secretary-General
Tendai Biti said a summit
would allow SADC to show that African institutions
can solve African
problems.
Biti was speaking in Johannesburg a day after the
state-controlled Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission, by way of a government
gazette, announced a more than
two-month extension of the period within
which an election run-off must be
held.
The run-off was called for
after no candidate took more than 50 per cent of
the vote in the first round
of voting for president on March 29. MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai, 56, took
47.9 per cent to 84-year-old President Robert
Mugabe's 43.2 per
cent.
Since the election youth militia and soldiers loyal to Mugabe have
gone on
the rampage in rural areas, attacking scores of opposition
supporters for
'voting wrongly.' Isolated incidents of MDC violence have
also been
reported.
The MDC said Thursday 40 of its members had been
killed in the violence,
including MDC youth activist Better Chokururama,
whom the party said was
abducted on the road north-east of Harare and whose
body was discovered
bearing a gunshot and knife wounds.
Scores of MDC
supporters, trade unionists and journalists have been arrested
in a
crackdown on dissent since the polls, nut usually released after a few
days.
Raymond Majongwe, secretary-general of the Progressive
Teachers' Union of
Zimbabwe, was detained Thursday. His organization had
published a list of
post-election attacks on its members.
The MDC
accuses Mugabe, who is trying to clinch a sixth term in office, of
brutalizing its supporters to try to boost his chances of
re-election.
Under Zimbabwe's election laws a run-off should be held
within three weeks
of the announcement of the first-round results on May 2,
that is to say by
May 23.
ZEC on Wednesday extended that period to 90
days (July 31).
Biti blasted the postponement as 'unconstitutional and
illegitimate.'
'Extending the run-off period means further extending
Mugabe's illegitimacy
for a further four months. In short, ZEC's decision
cements the coup against
the constitution,' he said.
Earlier, SADC
executive secretary Tomasz Salomao expressed confidence in the
ability of
ZEC to organize the run-off.
'If there were free and fair elections on
March 29, there's a good chance
that the run-off will also be free and
fair,' Salomao said in an interview
in Mozambique's capital,
Maputo.
The MDC has accused ZEC of being biased in favour of Mugabe over
its
month-plus delay in announcing the results of the first round.
Zimbabwe opposition warns of 'rivers of dead
people'
Ottawa Citizen
Nelson Banya, Reuters
Published: Thursday, May 15, 2008
HARARE
- Zimbabwe's main opposition party on Thursday rejected a delay in a
run-off
election which could unseat President Robert Mugabe, and called for
an
urgent meeting of countries in the region to avoid "rivers of dead
people."
Zimbabwe's electoral commission said on Wednesday the
presidential run-off
could be delayed until the end of July -- four months
after the disputed
March 29 elections. The date would be announced on
Friday, state television
said.
Authorities banned a rally on Sunday
at which opposition Movement for
Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai
was to open his campaign for the
run-off, the MDC said.
A statement
from the MDC said the delay in the run-off "demonstrated beyond
reasonable
doubt that the regime in Harare does not intend to surrender
power and will
do anything legally and extra-legally to hold onto the same."
"We would like
to express our great outrage at that disregard of Zimbabwe's
laws and the
people's will," MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti told
reporters in South
Africa.
Biti said his party insisted on a run-off by May 23, in line with
laws which
say the vote must be held within 21 days of the election results,
which were
announced on May 2.
But he stopped short of saying
Tsvangirai would only participate if the
timeline was
upheld.
Zimbabwean police prohibited the MDC's rally on Sunday in
Zimbabwe's second
city Bulawayo at which Tsvangirai planned to launch his
run-off campaign.
Tsvangirai left Zimbabwe over a month ago and has been
touring the region to
garner support.
"They wrote to us saying 'you
can't proceed with the rally'. They can't give
a reason. Our lawyers are
seeking an order to stop police from interfering
with our rally," MDC
spokesman Nelson Chamisa said.
The United States condemned the ban on the
rally.
"It is consistent with their past behavior to try to thwart the
activities
of the opposition parties and it does not . . . portend well for
proper
conditions for a free and fair electoral run," said State Department
spokesman Sean McCormack.
The MDC accuses the government of
intimidating and attacking its supporters
in an effort to rig the second
round vote.
The government denies the charges and accuses the MDC of
instigating the
violence, in which the opposition says 40 of its supporters
have been
killed.
Biti said the SADC group of southern African
nations "needs to act now
before there are rivers of dead
people."
Human rights group Amnesty International said violence had
reached crisis
levels in Zimbabwe.
"We are particularly worried about
people living in more remote rural areas,
where violence is taking place
away from the spotlight," Amnesty said.
Police arrested the
secretary-general of the anti-government teachers' union
outside the High
Court, civic activists said.
Raymond Majongwe of the Progressive
Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe was held as
he attended a bail hearing of labor
leaders arrested earlier this month,
activists said.
Official results
showed that Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in the election, but not
by enough votes
to avoid a run-off.
In the parliamentary vote, ZANU-PF lost its majority
to the opposition for
the first time since independence from Britain in
1980. The new parliament
has not yet convened.
Regional states fear
that turmoil and instability in Zimbabwe could hurt
them too. An economic
meltdown in Zimbabwe has triggered inflation of
165,000 percent, 80 percent
unemployment, chronic food and fuel shortages
and a flood of refugees to
neighboring states.
SADC, which will monitor the polls, said this week
the political environment
in Zimbabwe was not yet suited for a secure and
fair run-off.
Biti said the MDC was open to what he called a government
of "national
healing," but ruled out following Kenya's example for
power-sharing, which
involved keeping the incumbent as president and making
the opposition leader
prime minister.
With files from Paul Simao.
Amnesty International: Violence reaches crisis levels; youths forcibly recruited
Date: 15 May 2008
Amnesty
International today warned that the violence in Zimbabwe is reaching
crisis
levels, and revealed that ‘war veterans’ are forcibly recruiting
local
youths to attack perceived supporters of the opposition MDC (Movement
for
Democratic Change).
‘Those who refuse to commit violence are assaulted
and accused of being MDC
supporters by the ‘war veterans,’ said Simeon
Mawanza, Amnesty International’s
Zimbabwe researcher.
Eyewitnesses
told Amnesty International that large numbers of ZANU-PF
supporters and ‘war
veterans’ are assaulting perceived MDC supporters in
Mberengwa district in
Midlands province and Mazowe district in Mashonaland
Central.
In
Mberengwa, a large gang of ZANU-PF supporters -- most of them youths
forcibly recruited by ‘war veterans’ -- are going around attacking homes of
people suspected of voting for the MDC in the 29 March 2008 elections. A
similar gang was reported by an eyewitness in the Chiweshe area in Mazowe
district.
Police appear to be unwilling to stop the violence, only
acting to arrest
MDC supporters suspected of carrying out attacks on
perceived ZANU-PF
supporters.
‘We are particularly worried about
people living in more remote rural areas,
where violence is taking place
away from the spotlight,’ said Mawanza. ‘The
situation for these victims of
violence is dire. Humanitarian organisations
and local non-governmental
organisations are being targeted for helping
victims, who are being blocked
from receiving medical assistance.’
Victims of attacks in rural areas are
walking long distances to escape the
violence and increasingly seeking
refuge in towns and cities.
Some schools in rural areas have been forced
to close as teachers perceived
to be supporters of the MDC flee from the
state-sponsored violence.
Amnesty International fears for the safety of
Tonderai Ndira, a supporter of
the MDC who was reportedly abducted from his
home in Mabvuku, a low income
suburb of Harare on 14 May in the early hours
of the morning. Reports
indicate that nine armed men in plain clothes
assaulted him before driving
him away while he was still naked in a white
Toyota truck. He has not been
seen since.
Tonderai Ndira is one of
the 32 MDC members who were tortured by state
agents while in detention in
2007. He was detained for more than two months
in Harare Central Remand
Prison before the charges against him were dropped.
Amnesty International
has also received a report of the alleged abduction of
Sinoia Pfebve (79)
and his wife Serena Pfebve (76) on 13 May by people
believed to be ‘war
veterans’ in the Mukumbura area in Mt. Darwin district,
Mashonaland Central
province. They are believed to have been taken to
Nyakatondo Primary School
where the abductors are camped. The Pfebve family
have political connections
to the MDC: the couple’s son was an MDC candidate
in the parliamentary
election in 2000 and a by election in 2001.
At least 22 people have been
killed while over 900 have been treated for
injuries sustained from the
violence since the elections took place. Several
hundreds have been
hospitalised. Hundreds of families have been forced to
flee their homes
after they have been burnt by gangs of ‘war veterans’ and
ZANU-PF
youths.
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) reports that its
observers have
been attacked in Mt. Darwin in Mashonaland Central province.
They had their
homes vandalised and property looted. Six were hospitalised
after sustaining
serious injuries. Several families were forced to take
shelter in
surrounding hills and bushes.
Amnesty International today
called on the Zimbabwean government to:
- Publicly denounce all acts of
violence by ZANU-PF supporters, ‘war
veterans’ and soldiers, as well as by
any other party, and work with other
political parties to end political
violence immediately.
- Ensure that police arrest all suspected
perpetrators of human rights
abuses, including those who are instigating the
violence. Police should
operate in a non-partisan manner in executing their
duties.
- Ensure that access to humanitarian assistance, including
medical care,
shelter and food supplies, is not restricted.
-
Immediately invite international human rights monitors to investigate the
current human rights violations.
- Immediately set up an independent
and impartial body to investigate all
acts of political violence. The
investigation’s findings should be made
public. Suspected perpetrators
should be brought to justice in proceedings
that meet international
standards of fairness and victims should be awarded
full reparations in
accordance with international standards.
For more information please call
Amnesty International's press office in
London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or
email: press@amnesty.org
Another trade unionist arrested in
Zimbabwe
Mail and Guardian
Harare, Zimbabwe
15 May 2008
06:00
A Zimbabwe teachers' union leader was detained by
police on
Thursday after his organisation publicised a list of attacks on
its members
since March's disputed elections, his lawyer
said.
Raymond Majongwe, secretary general of the Progressive
Teachers'
Union of Zimbabwe, was picked up at the Harare High Court where he
was
attending a case of fellow union leaders arrested last week and was now
being held at the central police station, said his lawyer Alec
Muchadehama.
"He has not been charged but the police have
recorded a
statement from him asking him to explain how his union obtained
the
information published in the press about teachers who are being
victimised."
There was no immediate comment from police on
his arrest but the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) said it was
believed to be linked
to announcements posted in the country's only
independent Sunday newspaper,
the Standard, chronicling the numbers of
teachers who have been victims of
political violence.
"We
are not sure on what charges he is being [held] ... but
suspect he is to be
questioned on press adverts he placed in papers of
teachers who are being
beaten and harassed at their workplaces during the
current wave of political
violence," the ZCTU said in a statement.
According to the two
main teachers' unions, schoolteachers in
some parts of the country have been
targeted by ruling party militias
accusing them of contributing to the
ruling Zanu-PF party's failure to
garner enough votes to retain power in the
March 29 elections.
Zanu-PF lost control of Parliament at the
elections while
veteran leader Robert Mugabe also lost the first round of a
simultaneous
presidential ballot and now faces a run-off against opposition
leader Morgan
Tsvangirai. - AFP
Trade unionists in detention at risk of torture
amnesty.org.uk
Posted: 15 May 2008
Amnesty International supporters are urging
authorities in Zimbabwe to
immediately release two leading trade unionists
who have been detained
solely for peacefully exercising their basic human
rights.
The President and Secretary General of the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU) - Lovemore Matombo and Wellington Chibebe
respectively - are
believed to be in grave danger of torture after they were
arrested on 8 May.
The two men handed themselves in to police after
officers searched for
them at their homes. They were brought before a
magistrate on 12 May and
charged with 'communicating falsehoods prejudicial
to the state', in
connection with speeches they made during May Day
celebrations in Harare on
1 May. The magistrate refused them bail and
remanded them in custody until
23 May.
They are currently held
at Harare Central Remand Prison. They are
believed to be at risk of torture
while in custody. They were severely
tortured when they were previously in
police custody in September 2006.
Amnesty International considers
these men to be prisoners of
conscience as they have been detained solely
for exercising their rights to
freedom of expression, association and
assembly.
Amnesty International's Trade Union Manager, Shane
Enright, said
'These arrests are yet another example of the
flagrant persecution of
rights activists and trade unionists across Zimbabwe
at the moment.'
The arrests of Lovemore Matombo and Wellington
Chibebe are part of a
wider crackdown on human rights defenders, trade
unionists, lawyers,
journalists, election observers and opposition activists
in the wake of the
parliamentary and presidential elections of 29
March.
Shane Enright continued:
'These two men have
been arrested for exercising their basic human
rights. This is absolutely
unacceptable and they should be released
immediately. We will work
tirelessly, alongside the global trade union
networks to achieve this
end.'
Judge Defers ZCTU Leaders' Bail Case Saying It's Too Difficult
SW
Radio Africa (London)
15 May 2008
Posted to the web 15 May
2008
Tererai Karimakwenda
Justice Ben Hlatshwayo of the High
Court judge has deferred until Monday the
bail ruling on the case involving
the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
leaders.
Their lawyer Alex
Muchadehama said Secretary General Wellington Chibebe and
President Lovemore
Matombo are being accused of communicating falsehoods,
when they allegedly
told workers during May Day celebrations this year that
two teachers had
been murdered at Kondo School in Guruve. Both deny that
they ever said
this.
Muchadehama said even if they had done so, it is not a crime.
The judge said
the case was "too complicated" and he needed more
time.
The defense lawyer said he had filed an application on Monday this
week for
the court to treat this case with urgency, because Secretary
General Chibebe
was due to write some exams this week. This was
ignored.
The two leaders will now spend another weekend in police
custody. It appears
that the court is playing the same delay game that has
been used to keep
other activists and opposition officials in police custody
for longer
periods that is necessary. This is usually done when there is no
evidence to
support the state's case. The time served becomes the
penalty.
Assaults And Re-Education By Army Not Getting Support for ZPF
SW
Radio Africa (London)
15 May 2008
Posted to the web 15 May
2008
Tererai Karimakwenda
Reports from around the country
indicate that the army is at the forefront
of the violence against innocent
civilians and opposition officials.
Not only have army officers been
instructed to vote for Robert Mugabe in the
runoff election, they are also
being used to intimidate the electorate at
huge gatherings that they call
"re-education" rallies. Each army violence
unit has been assigned a group of
over 30 youth militia, who are now
reported to be uniformed and are being
paid for their brutal deeds. But
voters around the country say no amount of
violence or intimidation will
ever make them vote for
ZANU-PF.
Farmer and activist Gerry Whitehead has been monitoring
incidents in the
Chiredzi and Zaka areas. He reported that army officers are
gathering huge
groups of farm workers in order to conduct these
're-education' rallies. At
the gatherings a few chosen individuals known to
be opposition supporters or
officials, are beaten severely in front of the
locals as an example of what
could happen to them.
Whitehead said a
31-year old opposition activist in Zaka was recently beaten
so badly that he
had many broken bones and had to be hospitalised. Others
that were beaten at
the same rally are living with serious injuries because
they cannot afford
to pay for transportation or medical treatment.
The outspoken activist
also described how there has been no production in
the sugar-growing lowveld
area. Most of the farm workers are unemployed and
have relocated to the
nearest towns, or even further. The shops are empty
and hunger is
widespread.
Whitehead confirmed that thee rallies are not producing the
desired effect
the ruling party would like and he says the violence is
definitely turning
people even further away from supporting the ruling
party. He said: "I think
ZANU-PF has made a serious error. The people are
more determined now. You
can take our cattle. You can burn our houses, but
you can't take our hearts.
We will not vote for you, ever. That is the
message I'm getting."
Political Killings And Abductions of MDC Activists Escalate
SW
Radio Africa (London)
15 May 2008
Posted to the web 15 May
2008
Tichaona Sibanda
The brutal murder of MDC activist Beta
Chokururama in Murehwa on Sunday and
the abduction of Tonderai Ndira from
Mabvuku on Wednesday highlight the
country's spiralling crisis of political
killings and kidnappings.
Chokururama was abducted with three other
activists' 10km after Juru growth
point on his way to Ngwerume village in
Murehwa, to say goodbye to his
mother. The group had planned to flee the
country the following day and seek
refuge in South Africa.
The
four activists were driving in a car when it was sandwiched by two twin
cabs
carrying about eight men, believed to be state agents. They were forced
to
stop and in a desperate bid, locked themselves in the vehicle.
Wise
Mayengeza, an MDC activist who decided at the last minute not to travel
with
the group to Murehwa, said the state agents smashed the windscreen and
windows and pulled them out of the car.
'They were blindfolded and
taken to different places. One of them who
managed to escape under the cover
of darkness, was taken to a torture camp.
He only managed to get to Harare
Tuesday where he explained what had
happened,' Mayengeza
said.
Chokururama's body was discovered not too far away from where they
were
abducted. He had a gunshot and four deep stab wounds to his back. The
other
two activists are still missing and believed dead.
'We
understand there are two bodies that fit their descriptions at a
hospital
mortuary in Murehwa. We're making plans to travel there and
investigate if
the bodies are that of our friends,' Mayengeza said.
Shockingly
Chokururama was abducted and tortured and left for dead, three
weeks ago.
State agents told him then that he was number 17 on their
hit-list of
influential activists from Harare and Mashonaland East province.
At the time
of his murder he was still trying to recover from this serious
attack.
He had also spent four months in prison during the 2007
government crackdown
on the MDC.
On Wednesday heavily armed and
masked men abducted the MDC's security
secretary for Harare province,
Tonderai Ndira, from his Mabvuku home.
Ndira, who has been arrested 35
times and badly beaten on countless
occasions, was abducted from his home in
Chizhanje, Mabvuku by nine armed
men. The group included a policeman based
in Goromonzi identified by an
eyewitness.
He was assaulted, then
driven away naked in a white Toyota single cab truck,
Registration number
772-224T. Ndira was number 34 on the hit list, according
to Mayengeza. His
colleagues and family said they are very concerned about
his
safety.
The MDC has said the attacks on it's activists and supporters are
mostly
carried out by known state agents, militias and soldiers, who shoot
or stab
the victims before escaping in cars. No one has been arrested or
prosecuted
for the over 33 deaths reported so far.
Matabeleland violence update
THE DAILY AGENDA
14 MAY
2008
GWANDA
All police officers and their families should vote for
Robert Mugabe in the
election for the Presidency since Tsvangirai was sure
to sack them when he
got into office. This was said at a meeting in Gwanda
last Friday (9 May)
where Senior Assistant Commissioner Muderedzwa, the
officer commanding
Matabeleland South Province was addressing senior
officers. The audience
included Officers Commanding Gwanda, Beitbridge and
Bulilima-Mangwe
Districts, all superintendents in the province, officers in
charge of
stations, sections and their deputies
During the packed meeting
which the informant termed a ‘rally’, Muderedzwa,
a war veteran, read
extensively from the so-called Biti document which has
already been proven
to be false. In the document, it is claimed, when MDC
took over, all senior
officers would be fired from the force. It was
therefore incumbent on them
and their families to vote for Mugabe in order
to keep their jobs. He
revealed that this time around all police details
would vote through the
postal ballot system and would cast their vote in
front Assistant
Commissioner Mlilo and Chief Superintendant Ndlovu (CID) to
make sure they
voted correctly.
A team comprising Superintendants Sigauke from Plumtree and
Abraham (from
transport) would go round stations ‘educating’ people how and
where to vote.
A similar exercise headed by Sup Mukombero would cover police
officers’
wives as well.
It is reported that the mood among police
officers is that of defiance, with
some saying that they would not be
intimidated by the move to force them to
vote for a particular candidate.
They said that they would vote whoever they
chose even if it was in front of
their superiors. Mureredzwa was accompanied
by Assistant Commissioner s
Benge and Mlilo, both war veterans
MBERENGWA WEST
Five women and six
men arrived in Zvishavane today after fleeing from
Chingechuru Village in
Ward 33 under Chief Mudavanhu where war veterans have
laid siege on MDC
supporters. The people responsible for the violence are
war veterans
Tavarisa Banga, Jinara Banda, Collen Mangena and youths
identified as
Mikload Nkomo, Andreas Nkomo. Shopowners Inzwirashe Manhiri
and Margarate
Ngwenya are hiding in Zvishavane.
Nkosinathi Mangena, a ZIMCET Peace educator
in Zvishavane was taken in by
CIOs and interrogated for 8 hours on last
Friday. They wanted to know about
the activities of Zimcet, Crisis in
Zimbabwe and ZESN. He now fears for his
life.
GOKWE
Noel Muguti,
The MDC parliamentary candidate for Gokwe Nembudziya fled his
home this
morning after rampant assaults on opposition party members in the
district.
MANAMA
A man who was assaulted by Zanu PF youths at
Manama is admitted at Gwanda
Hospital with serious head injuries.
13
MAY 2008
BULAWAYO
There was drama this morning at TM supermarket, Fife
Street as till
operators were forced to vacate their work stations to join a
huge crowd of
shoppers who were queuing for sugar outside the supermarket.
Distribution of
sugar was supervised by suspected war veterans. These war
veterans demanded
that shoppers produce proof of residence before they could
be allowed to
purchase the scarce commodity. Not surprisingly, the only
shoppers who
managed to get sugar were police officers and their
spouses.
BINGA
ZANU PF militia and CIOs are said to have left Hwange
this morning to back
up their colleagues in Binga who were last week chased
away from Binga by a
group of organised villagers. This group of militia had
been originally sent
to Binga to root out and deal with any opposition
supporters. The youth
militia and CIOs from Hwange have been sent to
discipline those Binga
villagers who were involved in last week’s
clashes.
GOKWE
Police and locals in Gokwe clashed yesterday after
members of the police
force beat up some members of the public. The locals
retaliated by burning
down a ZANU PF base which had been set up in the area.
Meanwhile, police
from Gweru were deployed this morning to assist their
colleagues in Gokwe.
The situation is tense in Gokwe as residents have said
that they shall fight
any form of intimidation and violence to protect
themselves.
LUPANE
Lupane Agenda organised a consultative meeting on
Sunday. The meeting was
addressed by Bulawayo Agenda Executive Director,
Gorden Moyo. Mr. Moyo later
visited victims of violence in the Shabulana
area. The meeting was attended
by over 200 villagers. As a result of the
meeting, ZANU PF officials,
together with CIO officers in Lupane are
reported to be planning a raid of
the Lupane Agenda offices to look for the
organisation’s membership
register, t-shirts and Freeplay
radios.
MATOBO
War veterans went on a rampage over the weekend in
Silozwe ward, Matobo,
confiscating Freeplay radios from members of Matobo
Agenda and
MDC-Tsvangirai.
They accused the villagers of listening to
anti-government propaganda. Six
of the radios were confiscated from Matobo
Agenda committee members. The war
vets, who have camped in Silozwe,
threatened the members with unspecified
action for distributing radios to
the community. Meanwhile, the Silozwe
MDC-Tsvangirai ward councillor, Ethel
Nyamkuta, is in hiding as she fears
that her life is in
danger.
MBERENGWA
Seven people, (two teachers and five locals), were
yesterday severely beaten
up with iron bars at Chief Bvute area in Mberengwa
North. The seven were
accused of being MDC supporters. They have since
received medical attention
at a local hospital.
NKAYI
There are
reports of increased political violence in Nkayi. Cleopas Zololo,
an
activist, and his father, both from Gonye village which is 18km from
Nkayi
Business Centre, have been seriously assaulted by war vets and ZANU PF
militia.
Cleopas was stabbed in the chest while his father has a broken
arm. The two
have since been admitted to hospital in
Nkayi.
PLUMTREE
Information has been received that ZANU PF officials
are after Plumtree
Agenda
Chairperson Edwin Ncube. He is being accused of
having helped the MDC win in
the March 29 election. He is also being accused
of campaigning for Morgan
Tsvangirai in the run-off Presidential election. A
sympathetic police
officer advised Edwin to be careful in his movements as
there were plans to
abduct him.
VICTORIA FALLS
CIO officers ,war
veterans and soldiers yesterday visited the Zimbabwe
National Water
Authority (ZINWA) in Victoria Falls at 9am and asked to
address the
employees. The director of ZINWA who happens to be a war
veteran, refused
and told them to seek clearance from ZINWA head office in
Bulawayo. After a
brief altercation at the ZINWA offices, the group then
proceeded to Busy
Island, a curio market, where they addressed vendors and
shoppers. They told
the vendors that they were not making any consultations
but wanted to tell
them that the people of Victoria Falls had not voted
properly on March 29.
They further threatened that if people voted for
Morgan Tsvangirai in the
run-off, there would be bloodshed in the country.
12 may
2008
Bulawayo Agenda team tours areas affected by political violence
A
team from Bulawayo Agenda led by Executive Director Godern Moyo, visited
its
regional offices in Victoria Falls, Hwange and Lupane to meet with the
respective communities, leaders and civic society leaders and operatives.
The subject of the tour was to hold consultations following the March 29
harmonised polls and the impending presidential run-off. The aim was to
assess the political terrain and also to obtain views from the residents of
each respective area how the prevailing environment was impacting on their
day to day lives. In Lupane, the steam had an opportunity to talk to victims
of the current violent campaign being meted on citizens by war veterans and
youth militia. The tour ended with a public meeting at attended by over 200
people.
VICTORIA FALLS AND HWANGE
Members of the public
confirmed that military bases have been set up in
Makwa
and Mashala,
(Hwange) and in Monde, Jambezi, Chief Shana area, Chibondo,
Chikandakubi,
Chidobe and Chisumba, (Victoria Falls). War veterans and
youths have been
threatening residents with death should the opposition
emerge the winner in
the run-off. Some individuals, purportedly war
veterans, have been going
around the towns compiling lists of names of
members in each
household.
No indication has been given as to what the lists will be used
for.
The towns of Hwange and Victoria Falls are both run by local
councils.
Because
of the delay that has been taken in swearing in
councillors, local service
delivery has been affected. In the meetings held,
it was clear that the
political impasse was impacting negatively on service
delivery and the day
to day functions of local authorities. Since March 29,
elected councillors
have not yet been officially recognised. This means that
councillors are
unable to perform their duties. The challenge with such a
situation is that
residents feel that local authority activities should
continue as usual and
are expecting the councillors to attend to them. The
local authority
employees are also equally disoriented as all programmes
have halted and
they have no idea who should be giving them direction so
that work continues
as usual.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has
lost credibility with ordinary
citizens
because of its failure to
announce results on time and for the failure to
set a definite date for the
run-off.
While strides have been made in the larger towns and cities to
provide
relief
for victims of political violence, the voters in the
smaller towns fell they
are easy targets as they do not know who to approach
should anything happen
to them.
Residents of Victoria Falls who
depend heavily on the tourism sector to make
a
living are failing to make
ends meet as the industry has been greatly
affected by the uncertain
political environment. One of the largest hotels
in the town confirmed that
most hotels were operating at below 10% of their
normal
capacity.
Organisations providing food aid to the surrounding rural
communities had
been
stopped from going out into the villages after being
accused of being fronts
for the opposition MDC or civic society that was
pushing for regime change.
On the whole, the people of Hwange and
Victoria Falls were prepared to go
and
vote again in the run-off and no
matter how badly they were beaten, they
would still vote for the candidate
of their choice.
LUPANE
Members of the public who attended the
public meeting in Lupane on Sunday
were resolute in their condemnation of
the actions of ZANU PF. They said
that their lives were deteriorating by the
day and that ZANU PF was not
doing anything to change this. The people of
Lupane said that for this
reason, they would work very hard to see that the
reign of this party comes
to an end. The district of Lupane has the
background of the early eighties
atrocities and the surge of terror that the
ruling party has undertaken will
not change the minds of the people of
Lupane on which president to vote for.
Members of the audience stated
that although the opposition vote had been
divided in the March 29 elections,
this time they would make sure that they
all rallied behind one
candidate.
The people of Lupane are deeply concerned about the
credibility of the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and feel that the run-off
election should be
heavily supervised by independent international observers
if the results are
going to be acceptable. It also seemed that ZEC was
acting to the beck and
call of a particular political party by deliberately
depriving the
electorate of information.
The traditional leadership
in Lupane was greatly criticised for its
involvement and alignment with the
ruling party. The people felt that while
traditional leaders were entitled
to supporting political parties of their
choice and exercising their right
to vote as citizens of this country, their
participation in political party
campaigns should be strongly condemned.
The people in Lupane are greatly
concerned by the effect that the unstable
political situation has had on the
education of their children. Zenzele
Secondary, Makhovula Primary, Ndamuleni
Primary, Sibombo Primary, Ekuphakemi
Secondary and Mzola 55 Primary schools
in Lupane had not opened because
either no teachers at all on opening day or
because less than five teachers
had turned up. The reason given for the
teachers’ absence was that they felt
that their lives were in danger after
they had been accused of not having
performed their duties well as polling
officers in the March 2008 elections.
Members of the audience also raised
concerns over the displacement of their
friends and family members who were
voters. They said these voters would not
be able to vote in the run-off as
they were hiding in constituencies where
they could not vote. Members of the
public were concerned that this would
affect the outcome of the run-off
presidential election. Another challenge
that the audience raised was the
placement of polling officers, mostly
teachers in constituencies far away to
reduce their chances of casting their
votes.
The use of food as a
campaign tool would not buy ZANU PF any votes. Granted,
the people of Lupane
were facing hunger but they shall not vote for a party
that remembers to
give them food when it wants to be elected into power.
The team is due to
visit Gwanda, Matopo and Gweru on a similar mission to
consult the local
communities and get a feel of the situation on the ground.
The success of the
tour was indicated by the enthusiasm with which the team
was received and
the change in the residents from that of fear to that of
being resolute and
confident in their approach to the issues at hand.
Contact:
Bulawayo
Agenda
E-mails: byoagenda@hotmail.com; byagenda@mweb.co.zw
Blog: www.bulawayo_agenda.blog.com
Phone/Fax:
+263-(0)9-88821
ZESN observer abducted in Mudzi
The Zimbabwean
Thursday, 15 May 2008 10:36
Alert - A Zimbabwe
Election Support Network (ZESN) observer was
allegedly abducted on Tuesday
the 13th of May 2008 from Kotwa in Mudzi by
known ZANU PF supporters and is
being held hostage at Muzezuru Primary
School at a ZANU PF base near the dam
that is behind the school. It has
been confirmed that the observer is in a
critical condition after being
severely tortured by suspected ZANU PF youth
militia at the alleged
instigation of the MP elect for Mudzi North, Newten
Kachepa, a headman in
the area Chingwena and Maneto known ZANU PF
activists. ZESN has also been
reliably informed that one police inspector
operating from Nyamapanda Police
Post is part of the gang fanning
politically motivated violence against
suspected MDC supporters and ZESN
election observers.
ZESN can further confirm that 8 of its observers in
the area have had
their accreditation cards and ZESN t-shirts confiscated by
the same headman
Chingwena for allegedly conniving with polling officials to
ensure that ZANU
PF lost the election on the 29th of March 2008.
Given the above facts it is disturbing that the law enforcement agents
remain inactive and such inaction reinforces the assumption that
perpetrators of violence and human rights abuses in Mudzi North are enjoying
police support and protection. Assertions by Police Internal Security
Intelligent (PISI) officers at Nyamapanda that there is nothing they can do
because the country is at war is ludicrous and unacceptable because the
question that begs for an answer is whose war and against who?
ZESN
demands the immediate disbanding of the ZANU PF torture base at
Muzezuru
Primary School and others around the country. ZESN further demands
the
rescue of all victims held and subsequent conclusive investigation of
all
leaders implicated in the violation of human rights at the base
including
the MP elect, Newten Kachepa. In the absence of such immediate
action, ZESN
reiterates that it will hold the Zimbabwe Republic Police, ZANU
PF, the MP
elect for Mudzi North and all individuals that have been
implicated in the
abduction responsible for anything that happens to the
abducted.
The setting up of military style bases throughout the country is
illegal and
a contravention of international law especially when such bases
are used for
human rights abuses.
In a related event the ZESN vehicle that had been
confiscated by
suspected ZANU PF supporters on Monday 11 May was recovered
with assistance
of ZESN lawyers and the police from Nyamapanda.
Zimbabwe opposition says police ban run-off rally
Reuters
Thu 15 May
2008, 14:32 GMT
HARARE (Reuters) - Police in Zimbabwe have banned an
opposition rally on
Sunday at which Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
leader Morgan
Tsvangirai was going to kick off his campaign for a
presidential runoff, the
MDC said on Thursday.
"They wrote to us
saying 'you can't proceed with the rally'. They can't give
a reason. Our
lawyers are seeking an order to stop police from interfering
with our
rally," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said.
"The law requires us to notify
the police and not to seek permission. We can
only conclude that they are
scared of the MDC. They can't trust us to open
our mouth to explain the
problems of this country to the people," he said.
SADC Won't Use Force Over Crisis, Says Mwanawasa
The Times of
Zambia (Ndola)
15 May 2008
Posted to the web 15 May
2008
Ndola
SOUTHERN African Development Community (SADC) chairman,
Levy Mwanawasa has
said the regional grouping will not use force to solve
the problems being
faced by Zimbabwe.
President Mwanawasa said SADC
would not use force as that would only affect
the ordinary
Zimbabweans.
Addressing journalists at State House in Lusaka
yesterday, Dr Mwanawasa said
the SADC would also not expel Zimbabwe from the
grouping.
He said SADC would not fall in the same trap as that of the
Commonwealth
when it expelled Zimbabwe from the organisation.
He said
ultimately it was Britain which lost out when Zimbabwe was expelled
from the
Commonwealth as it could not now effectively participate in the
affairs of
that country.
"We are not going to fall in the same trap. Zimbabwe will
continue to be a
member and a child of SADC. When a child makes a mistake,
you cannot disown
him. We are not going to use force or arms because the
people who will
suffer are ordinary Zimbabweans," he said.
Dr
Mwanawasa said SADC had taken a very critical initiative to sort out the
impasse that had befallen Zimbabwe after it went to the polls in
March.
He said the greatest initiative was the extra-ordinary summit,
which was
held in Lusaka in April to discuss the way forward after the
electoral
impasse in Zimbabwe.
He said a communiqué was issued on how
SADC wanted the results to be
announced and what was to be done in case of a
run-off.
Dr Mwanawasa said the grouping was persuading Movement for
Democratic Change
(MDC) president, Morgan Tsvangirai to contest the
run-off.
Dr Mwanawasa said Mr Tsvangirai was for the idea of the run-off,
but
insisted that the elections be conducted in an environment where there
was
the rule of law.
A
500mln bearer cheque (aka ‘bank note’) added to Gono’s portfolio of
success
Sokwanele
(Click on the image to enlarge). A new so-called bank note - which
is actually just another of Gideon Gono’s funny-money bearer-cheques (printed
with expiry dates) - has hit the streets. It has not yet been added to our
display of Gideon Gono’s portfolio of past and current cheques, but I’m sure our
readers will understand that it is almost as hard to keep up with him and his
printing as it is to keep up with inflation!
The photograph certainly makes one think, doesn’t it?!
It’s hard to believe that the smallest note in this pile - $5 - was issued on
1st August 2006 (you can just make out the date if you enlarge the image).
1st August 2006 is a very important date: this marked the
beginning of Gono’s Operation Sunrise where he knocked three zeros off
our currency.
Operation Sunrise was accompanied by a big Reserve Bank Of Zimbabwe
advertising campaign as well, heralding the new future of three less zeros which
was supposedly about restoring value. Here is one advert to remind you
(click on it to enlarge and you can see the ‘restore value’ slogan in the
top right).
There are three things to point out here: first, the $5 note in our picture
had actually been worth $5,000 in July 2006. Value was not restored to the
currency, all that happened was three zeros were dropped. The advertising
campaign set out to con the public that the real value of our money had somehow
returned miraculously overnight; that Gideon Gono was a successful Reserve Bank
Governor who had helped to heal the economy.
So the REAL figure associated with the new $500,000,000 cheque issued
today is in fact $500,000,000,000.
Your eyes are not deceiving you - eleven zeros -
$500,000,000,000.
The second thing to note is the price of bread. A new $500,000,000 cheque
will buy two loaves of bread; but according to the government’s own campaign,
one loaf cost a mere $85 in August 2006.
Translate that to the proper terms with all the zeros in place: a loaf that
cost $85,000 in 2006, now costs $250,000,000,000.
The third thing to note is that THIS - the mis-management of the economy - is
the biggest reason why Zimbabweans want Mugabe and Zanu PF to go. Wouldn’t you
vote your government out if they did this to YOUR economy?
This via Reuters
Zimbabwe’s central bank introduced 500 million Zimbabwe dollar notes worth
just $2 on Thursday in the latest sign of spiralling hyperinflation, only a week
after issuing the 250 million bill.
The new highest denomination note would buy about two loaves of bread.
The central bank also introduced special agricultural cheques in 5 billion,
25 billion and 50 billion Zimbabwe dollar denominations to facilitate payments
to farmers during the current selling season.
Farmers normally have to carry huge stacks of bank notes after selling their
produce to state agencies, while consumers often carry large piles of cash with
them for simple daily transactions.
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A huge risk that has to be taken
May 15th 2008
From The Economist print
edition
Africa's leaders should give Morgan Tsvangirai a chance to meet
the people's
wishes
HORRIBLE scenes of government-sponsored
violence are unfolding across
Zimbabwe, as President Robert Mugabe and his
band of thugs and crooks set
about terrorising the people into reversing
their decision, plainly
expressed at the ballot box at the end of March, to
chuck the old tyrant out
of power. So the electoral odds are once again
being tilted against Morgan
Tsvangirai, Mr Mugabe's challenger.
Nevertheless, the opposition leader is
right to risk competing in a run-off
that should not have been necessary.
It would have been understandable if
Mr Tsvangirai, who officially won the
first round of the presidential
election on March 29th, and who very
probably won it outright with more than
50% of votes cast, had boycotted a
run-off. Mr Mugabe is bent on brutally
swinging the vote his way next time
round. Even by the massaged figures of
the electoral commission, Mr
Tsvangirai beat Mr Mugabe by nearly five
percentage points in the first
bout, when he was adjudged to have got 48% of
the votes. The 9% collected by
the third- and fourth-placed contestants in
the first round would almost all
go to Mr Tsvangirai in a fair run-off.
However, if he had opted out of the
contest in protest against previous vote
fiddling, he would have let Mr
Mugabe win by default. So, for all the likely
shortcomings of the next poll,
including a possible disgraceful further
delay for several months, he felt
bound to risk running once more. He still
has a chance, albeit perhaps
diminishing, of winning.
Even Mbeki
could yet do the decent thing
Much will depend on the rest of Africa, most of
whose leaders, in particular
South Africa's Thabo Mbeki, have so far
performed dismally out of a
misconceived solidarity with one of their
continent's nastiest dictators.
The main African body meant to ensure a fair
poll is the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), a club of 14
countries (including Zimbabwe),
some of whose members rarely have proper
polls of their own. During
Zimbabwe's March election it ludicrously
prejudged the outcome as fair and
shrank from telling Mr Mugabe's team to
abide by a set of principles that
SADC had itself laid down some years ago.
For instance, according to SADC's
principles, all sides should have fair
access to the state media. In fact,
Zimbabwe's only daily newspapers are
government mouthpieces, and state
television and radio ceaselessly vilify Mr
Tsvangirai, a former trade
unionist, as a puppet of the West. This does not
seem to upset Mr Mbeki at
all.
With Mr Tsvangirai's decision to run
one more time, SADC and Africa's
leaders have a chance to redeem themselves.
For a start, SADC should bump up
its monitors' numbers and try a lot harder
than before to scour the
countryside, where would-be opposition voters and
polling-station agents run
an ever-increasing risk of being beaten up or
even killed.
Mr Mbeki still seems loth to let SADC play a more robust
pro-democracy role
in Zimbabwe. But several slightly braver SADC leaders,
including the club's
current chairman, Zambia's Levy Mwanawasa, and
Tanzania's Jakaya Kikwete,
who chairs the bigger African Union, have had
enough of Mr Mugabe; they
should speak out even more loudly. It would be
harder for Mr Mugabe to
continue his intimidation if the UN and the European
Union were also able to
send election teams, but he has said no. His African
counterparts have
failed to persuade him otherwise.
Instead, their
preferred tactic has been to eschew the idea of a fair poll
in favour of
trying to arrange a government of national unity, led for a
transitional
period by Mr Mugabe or someone other than Mr Tsvangirai. This
would provide
for Mr Mugabe's gracious exit, perhaps letting him choose a
successor,
probably as villainous as himself. That is too shoddy a
compromise. Only if
a unity government were led by the voters' true choice,
Mr Tsvangirai, might
it offer a way out of the impasse. Mr Tsvangirai says
he would let Mr Mugabe
retire in peace—a remarkably generous offer in the
circumstances. The least
Africa's leaders can do, if they are to be taken
seriously, is to help
Zimbabweans elect their own leader. Then the
rebuilding, with generous help
from the West, can begin.
The opposition goes for broke
May 15th 2008 | JOHANNESBURG
From The
Economist print edition
Zimbabwe's opposition leader heads home to risk
fighting another election
AFTER a month on safari abroad, trying to
befriend leaders all over Africa,
Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the embattled
opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), has decided to go home and
risk contesting a
presidential election run-off. As The Economist went to
press, he was poised
to fly back, having already missed at least one
deadline to do so.
No one knows whether Mr Tsvangirai will be able, on
his return, to move
freely around the country. No one knows, more crucially,
whether people will
be able to vote freely or whether their votes will be
honestly counted. Yet,
though independent observers assume Zimbabwe's
president, Robert Mugabe, and
his people will do their worst on all such
fronts, giving him a big built-in
advantage in the contest, there is still a
chance that a groundswell of
opposition—and the courage and desperation of
MDC voters—may give Mr
Tsvangirai the edge, as it did in the first round.
But few are confident he
will win.
The electoral commission, which
took over a month to announce the results of
the vote on March 29th, has yet
to set a date for the run-off. But it now
says it may be held within 90 days
after the date of the long-delayed
announcement, ie, by the end of July.
That, Mr Mugabe's backers presumably
hope, should give them time to beat the
opposition into submission.
Mr Tsvangirai, who says he won over 50%
outright in the first round, accused
the ruling ZANU-PF of rigging the
official results, which gave him 47.9%,
against 43.2% to Mr Mugabe.
State-sponsored violence against suspected
opposition supporters has been
steadily increasing, so it will be harder for
the MDC to contest a second
round. The authorities have not excluded laying
charges against Mr
Tsvangirai, who hopes to address a rally in the
Zimbabwean capital, Harare,
on his return.
Repression is increasing. The editor of a prominent
independent newspaper, a
well-known human-rights lawyer and several
trade-union leaders were arrested
last week, as well as MDC officials.
Foreign diplomats touring hospitals to
investigate the violence were
interrogated at a roadblock outside Harare. A
few incidents of retaliation
by opposition supporters have been reported,
but pro-government militias
have carried out most of the well-orchestrated
violence, dishing out severe
beatings and burning down houses.
The MDC says at least 32 of its
supporters have been killed since March
29th. A doctors' association has
documented over 900 cases of severe
beatings-up by pro-government militias
or members of the security forces
since the election; it says the real
number of victims, including women,
children and the old, is probably much
higher, as only a fraction of them
reach hospitals, which are running out of
basic supplies. Doctors and nurses
in rural hospitals are being intimidated,
so many victims cannot get
treatment. Thousands of people accused of backing
the MDC, including
teachers and polling officials, have fled the
countryside. They may not be
willing or able to return to their original
ward to vote in a second round,
which would skew the results in favour of Mr
Mugabe.
African leaders have called for a free, fair and peaceful
run-off. The
opposition wants more international observers and peacekeepers
to come for
the poll. Mr Tsvangirai wants the Southern African Development
Community
(SADC), an influential club of 14 countries, at least to double
its number
of monitors from the 120-odd who watched the first round and to
send
peacekeepers. But the government has said Western or UN monitors would
not
be let in, unless sanctions (in essence, a travel ban and asset freeze
on
some 130 leading figures of the regime), which are repeatedly blamed for
the
economic mess, are lifted. African observers who monitored the first
poll
are to be let in again—and their numbers may even go up.
Be nice
to a sweet old man
However, rather than give Mr Tsvangirai a chance of
ousting Mr Mugabe at the
polls, most regional leaders sound keener to
arrange a negotiated settlement
to produce a government of national unity,
probably with Mr Mugabe at its
head. That would be followed by a two-year
transition and a gracious
handover, perhaps to a compromise candidate within
ZANU-PF.
South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, who remains the chief
mediator for
SADC, was in Harare last week, and sent a team including
retired generals to
investigate the reports of violence. It is unclear how
much clout Mr Mugabe
has over the Joint Operations Command (JOC), a
secretive and influential
clutch of Zimbabwe's security chiefs now chaired
by Emmerson Mnangagwa, a
ruling ZANU-PF hardliner widely touted as the
likeliest successor to Mr
Mugabe from within the establishment. The JOC is
suspected of planning Mr
Mugabe's fightback after the shock of his poor
showing a few days after the
March election and may be organising the
violence.
Much still depends on the performance of SADC's observers and
the attitude
of its leaders. While Mr Mbeki is still doggedly loth to
squeeze Mr Mugabe
out, SADC's current chairman, Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia,
and the chairman of
the African Union (AU), Tanzania's Jakaya Kikwete, have
become colder to the
Zimbabwean leader, and may heed the suggestion that
more monitors from other
countries in Africa under the AU's aegis as well as
from SADC countries be
brought in. The head of South Africa's ruling ANC,
Jacob Zuma, probably
wants Mr Mugabe out. And Mr Mugabe's Chinese friends,
foiled by southern
African dockers who recently stopped a shipload of arms
from reaching him,
may be keeping their distance too. He is by no means
certain of victory yet.
Kunonga: the
ex-bishop who scorns the law
Politics, greed,
corruption and deception appear to be the hallmarks of about seven unfrocked
clerics who were once members of the Anglican Diocese of Harare, a Diocese
forming part of the Church of the Province of Central Africa
(CPCA).
NO LONGER AN
ANGLICAN
Nolbert Kunonga,
and his small band, none of whom hold licences to preach any longer and none of
whom are recognized as members of the Diocese of Harare (the Diocese) or as
Anglicans. This is because Kunonga and his clerical followers, some of whom are
relatives of his, rebelled against the Anglican Church and broke away from the
Anglican Communion worldwide thereby breaking their vows of canonical obedience
to the laws of the Church. This is a serious offence in the eyes of the
Christian Church and is called schism.
THREATS AND
ASSAULTS
Kunonga, from the
time he became Bishop in about 2001, showed his contempt for the laws of the
Diocese in many ways including dismissing many clergymen who merely wished to
follow the ecclesiastical laws and spread the gospel of Christ in their
churches. In their place, Kunonga recruited persons from his family and other
acquaintances. He was not particularly concerned whether or not they had had
theological training. He obtained an undertaking from them that they would do
what he ordered them to do and this was the requirement for their "ordination"
as priests. It is this group that scorns the laws of the Church and refuses to
obey secular court orders; this is the group which supported actively or through
the inaction of the Police and others, has resorted to threats, violence and the
desperate measures of beating up parishioners, of locking out innocent
parishioners from the Diocesan Cathedral and its precincts.
THE
CATHEDRAL
In this regard
Kunonga and his men caused the harmless caretaker to be beaten up and thrown out
of his flat at the Cathedral. Now it is reported that Kunonga and his wife are
living in that flat whilst his band of paid and unpaid henchmen threaten and
assault members of the public who wish to enter the Cathedral or step anywhere
on the Cathedral grounds.
It is stressed that
just a few are behaving in this unseemly, unacceptable and ungodly manner. There
is hardly any support for Kunonga and his unpriestly behaviour throughout the
Diocese. Only a handful of persons, mainly spouses and close relatives,
attending the meetings he and his defrocked clerics hold in
churches.
BISHOP
BAKARE'S FOLLOWERS
By contrast, Church
services held by the Diocese of Harare (CPCA) under the leadership of Bishop
Sebastian Bakare who succeeded Kunonga, are crowded with great numbers of
parishioners. It has been estimated that about 98% of the parishioners
throughout the Diocese have remained loyal to the Diocese within the CPCA and
therefore loyal to its only Bishop, namely Bishop Bakare.
This is not
surprising. Christian churchgoers attend Church for spiritual uplifting and to
worship Jesus Christ. They seek to become better Christians. They expect their
priest to be filled with faith and love, to be a good, wise, kind, patient,
compassionate, just, righteous and holy person. They expect him to have a
peaceful, humble, honest disposition, to be principled in conduct and worship
and observe the laws; a person who always has a conscience void of offence
towards God and towards man. (Acts 24: 16)
Christian
churchgoers have been shocked by the increasing unspiritual, unclerical
behaviour of Kunonga and his group. Christians and others do not revere or
respect people calling themselves priests who threaten, sanction assaults,
unlawful acts, refuse to recognise laws and the rights of others, are unjust,
have no or very little compassion, understanding or love for their flock and do
not focus primarily on the principles of Christ in a spiritual and righteous
manner. Such persons, if linked to any church, are shunned and Christianity is
brought into disrepute. The teaching of God's word must not be put into
disrepute (Titus 2: 5)
KUNONGA THE
POLITICIAN
Kunonga equipped
with new 4x4 motor vehicles has forsaken the Church and is apparently pursuing
party politics which is his passion. Whatever influence gets the better of a man
becomes his master (2 Peter 2: 19). In the pulpit and at rallies while he was a
Bishop he made party political statements which were unbecoming a clergyman. Now
he is canvassing for a particular party, something which would have been
strongly frowned upon while he was a bishop. Now that he is no longer a bishop
or priest in the church he does not in any way represent the Anglican Church
which is a non-party political, religious, Christian
organisation.
The governing party
in Zimbabwe has acknowledged by its acceptance of his political behaviour, that
Kunonga is no longer a priest, a bishop, an Anglican and is not involved within
the Diocese. The President of our country reportedly said, "When the Church
leaders start being political we regard them as political creatures and we are
vicious in that area". No steps have been taken by the Government to restrain
Kunonga from his political outpourings. The reason must be that it recognizes
that Kunonga is indeed a political creature but is no longer a church leader. If
Kunonga had still been a church leader his political behaviour would cause him
to be regarded as a political creature attracting the repercussions stated by
our President.
KUNONGA
DEFIED LAWS
Christian folk
throughout the Diocese are aware that Kunonga has left the Diocese and is no
longer their bishop. They know that Bishop Bakare has taken over as bishop of
the Diocese at the request of the Bishops of the CPCA. In normal circumstances
this means simply that one man has left the Diocese and another man, Bishop
Bakare has taken over control of it in every respect. But this is not a simple
matter. Kunonga has defied the decrees of the CPCA and has also paid no
attention to, and disregarded High Court orders, maintaining that he is entitled
to all the property and other assets of the Diocese. His reasoning is not
understood. If a managing director of an international company with offices and
other property in Zimbabwe decides to sever his ties with that company and to
break away from it, he cannot say "I do not want to be associated any longer
with your company and am handing in my notice. But when I leave I will still
hold and control the offices and property in Zimbabwe". Just as this managing
director has no legal basis on which to claim ownership, so Kunonga has no legal
basis to claim ownership, control for any interest in property and assets of an
organisation he has withdrawn from.
THE CPCA
DECREES
The situation
should have been resolved many months ago, but has not because the secular
courts have still to give judgment on who is the rightful owner of the Diocesan
property and assets. This has made parishioners understandably confused and
bewildered. The following points, hopefully, throw some light on the
subject:-
1. On the
21st September 2007 Kunonga wrote to the Archbishop of the CPCA expressing his
personal attitude and intention and the desire to withdraw the Diocese from the
CPCA.
2. The laws
of the CPCA do not allow such a withdrawal and the Diocese still remains within
the CPCA.
3. Bishop
Kunonga's personal intention to leave the CPCA with immediate effect was
accepted by the CPCA. Since the 21st September 2007 he has no longer been the
Bishop of the Diocese or a licensed priest, or an ordinary member of the Diocese
and he is no longer an Anglican.
4. Those
few priests who supported Kunonga and refused to be bound by the laws of the
church have had their licences withdrawn and they are no longer employed by the
Diocese. They are not recognized as Anglicans.
5. Kunonga
has been forbidden by the CPCA and should be prevented by all concerned from
controlling or having any authority whatsoever over or representing the Diocese
of Harare or using the funds and assets of the Diocese. This is a resolution and
order of the highest Synod unanimously approved by all the Bishops in Botswana,
Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is recognized and accepted worldwide as binding
on everyone having dealings with the Diocese.
6. In the
same resolution the bishops unanimously appointed Bishop Sebastian Bakare as
interim bishop of the Diocese of Harare (CPCA). It is therefore Bishop Bakare
who is the leader of the Diocese, not Kunonga. It is Bishop Bakare who is vested
with the power to control and have authority over and represent the Diocese, not
Kunonga.
These resolutions
have the effect of an ecclesiastical edict or decree; that is, they are official
public orders and commands made by the Bishops which have the force of law. They
are binding upon Kunonga and the entire Anglican Church. As he is defying these,
the secular courts should, with respect, as a matter of urgency order Kunonga
and his small group of supporters to remove themselves immediately or have them
removed from all CPCA property in the Diocese. Furthermore, the secular courts
should rule that Bishop Bakare is the Bishop of the Diocese, not
Kunonga.
7. The
defrocked Kunonga seems to believe that he is the owner of all Diocesan property
and trusts and accounts and can do what he pleases for his benefit and that of
his defrocked priests and others. The reality is he represents no Anglican
Diocese whatsoever and is a lone voice seeking to keep from others what is not
his. The legal position is that all property, moveable and immoveable and all
monies in and due to the Diocese are beneficially held by the Diocese of Harare
(CPCA) but are owned by the CPCA. This is laid down in the Articles of the
Constitution and the Canons and other laws of the CPCA. These laws apply to all
Dioceses including the Diocese of Harare which still forms an integral part of
the CPCA. The Diocese under Bishop Bakare continues to beneficially hold the
assets of the CPCA, not Kunonga.
THE HIGH
COURT
Yet the High Courts
of Zimbabwe last year refused to consider an urgent application by the CPCA to
prevent Kunonga from using its assets and spending its funds. Instead the Judge
decided that the case was not urgent and must run its ordinary course through
the courts. The Judge may have felt that he had insufficient evidence on the
papers at the time before him to rule that the matter was urgent and to restrain
Kunonga from unlawfully spending money of the Diocese and representing the
Diocese. But the predictable result of this approach by the Judge was that
Kunonga and his cohorts were at liberty to do, and have been doing, what they
wanted with assets which did not belong to them. This case has still not been
set down to be heard by the courts.
A document entitled
"Bishops of the Church of The Province Of Central Africa Statement On The
Diocese Of Harare Issue" published after an Extraordinary Synod of Bishops held
on 20th December 2007, sets out the decrees mentioned above and is signed by all
the Bishops in the CPCA. This document and the evidence of the Bishops
constitute irrefutable evidence of the legal position of the Diocese and the
CPCA. No doubt, the courts will now take cognizance of this so that the matter
of the assets and leadership of the Diocese of Harare may be put to rest
urgently.
Bob
Stumbles
Chancellor of the
Diocese of Harare
Deputy Chancellor
of the Church of the Province of Central Africa
16th April
2008
Zimbabwe Victim Support Network
FUNCTIONS
In order to achieve the
foregoing objectives, Zimbabwe Victim Support Network will:-
- Advocate and fund medical
expenses of politically motivated violence victims in Zimbabwe;
- Campaign and fund raise for the
welfare of both internally and externally displaced political victims of the
Zimbabwean community.
- encourage and promote consistent
and high quality standards in the delivery of service to victims throughout
Zimbabwe;
- Offer/advocate for provision of
shelter support services to the internally displaced victims of political
violence.
- provide opportunities for the
exchange of experience, information and resources between victim service
organisations in Zimbabwe;
- Make legal representations on
behalf of victims of political violence where perpetrators of the heinous crimes
are known or documented proof beyond reasonable doubt do exit to warranty
prosecution.
- provide information and advice to
individuals and groups planning to organise support services for victims of
crime throughout Zimbabwe where such services do not exist;
- publish and distribute reports,
leaflets and other literature relating to the support services required by
victims of political violence at a national and international level;
- promote public information,
research and good support practice aimed at increasing the awareness of and
advancing knowledge about the issues and effects of political motivated violence
on the victim, their families and the community; and
- Organise conferences on issues
relating to victims of political violence for members and other interested
parties and to liaise with organisations, professions and interest groups whose
contribution could be beneficial to political victim.
MEMBERSHIP
Membership of Zimbabwe Victim Support Network shall be
open to:-
- All Zimbabweans of 16 years and
above both in Zimbabwe and in the Diaspora irrespective of political
affiliation.
- Any member willing and
sympathetic to Zimbabwean Community Welfare
- any organisation providing
services and support to victims of political violence in Zimbabwe, or involved
in related policy and program developments;
- members shall support the purpose
and objectives of Zimbabwe Victim Support Network and subscribe to its
Constitution;
- membership applications shall be
approved by the Executive of Zimbabwe Victim Support Network; and
- No member or delegation to
Zimbabwe Victim Support Network shall engage in party political activities
whilst engaged in business of the Association.
Doing nothing is not an option,
join the Network. International Field Officers (Chairs) sought in USA,
Australia, South Africa, Asia, UK and Europe. Become a member
today.
Contact Interim Chairman: Elliot
Pfebve
Email: epfebve@yahoo.co.uk
Mobile:
+447876212446
Flushing out the Wounded Buffalo
When hunting a dangerous enemy,
especially one that has been wounded but
still has the capacity to wreak
carnage if we are not careful, vigilance is
the key to success. Zanu PF has
been mortally wounded, no one expects them
to last much longer but they have
gone into the Jesse and apart from the
sounds of an angry bellow or two and
trees being shaken by a massive head
with horns, we have seen little of the
quarry since our engagement on the
29th March.
We are working hard to
flush the devil out of the Jesse we are beating the
surrounding bush. The
SADC countries are all doing their bit except for
Mbeki who still wants us to
negotiate a deal. Time is running out, the
inflation rate is bleeding the
beast and if he does not move soon he will
not have the strength to do so and
will die where he is in the bush. The key
is to guess you can never know
with certainty, where and when he will come
out with a rush and what we will
have to do to ensure we get in a clean
shot.
Anyone who has hunted one
of the big five in Africa will know exactly what I
am talking about. That
sense of fear and anticipation; the adrenalin is
pumping and although its hot
you do not notice the weather and all is
concentrated on being ready for that
final contest. You have checked your
weapon, made sure your fingers know
where the spare rounds are and that they
are all in good working order. Your
guide is behind you with his own weapon
and you have confidence that if you
do not finish off the beast, he will.
Nearly 7 weeks have gone by since
this old buffalo was shot. He has had
plenty of time to work out an exit
strategy and to watch his hunter through
beady eyes and allow his own
internal hatred and anger build. His campaign
is made up of what he has known
to work in the past brute force, terrible
terror and fear and deceit and
deception before that final fateful rush
where he hopes his horns can get
close enough to kill.
So Zanu PF has deployed their brown shirts in all
sorts of uniforms and
with all sorts of weapons. They have targeted all those
whom they thought
were in any way responsible for that fatal shot on the
29th. They have
beaten and raped, burnt and destroyed. Many have died and
thousands are
wounded and hurt, tens of thousands have fled to safety. This
old adversary
is now preparing to leave the Jesse leave at an unexpected
point and time
and in areas where it has the best hope of a killing thrust.
This is clear
from Chinamasa¹s statement yesterday that Zanu is looking
forward to the run
off and that it will be held within 90 days of the 2nd
May, even though this
is illegal.
They are preparing ZEC for a final
effort to rig the electoral process
hoping that by driving out of the rural
areas all those who supported the
MDC and by instilling fear in the rest and
then falsifying the ballot that
this will be enough to turn the tide. How
close the old buffalo is to
completing this exit strategy is anyone¹s guess
but the postal ballot is
under way in Police camps and this is a clear sign
that we must be ready.
My own guess is that they might well try to ambush
us and give us a week¹s
notice of the run off. We had intelligence to that
effect some weeks ago. In
which case we will have a week to campaign and
organise to supervise the run
off in 9200 polling stations. An impossible
task even if it is extended by a
week or two, it is still a very tough
assignment.
We are advised by all and sundry that we should not
participate until the
playing field is more level and the violence in the
Jesse is halted and
conditions returned to normal. The hunt in Africa is not
like that and
perhaps this is what makes it such a life changing experience.
Hunter and
the hunted have to anticipate and react fast and under deadly
conditions.
This contest is no different, only the weapons are
different.
On Sunday we plan a celebration rally in Bulawayo and we hope
the President
will be there to celebrate our victory in March with the people
who have
walked this long road together with him. I think sometimes we lose
sight of
the fact that on the 29th March the people of Zimbabwe voted, almost
for the
first time, on a national basis. In 1980 we were cleanly
divided
Ndebele/Shona, north/south. In March we elected a Shona speaking
Zimbabwean
as President and he was supported in the southwest in the same way
that he
was in the north of the country.
We will celebrate our victory
and look forward to the future under a new
government, look forward to a new
beginning for this broken and mangled
country. We will remember all those who
died in our long road to freedom
the men and women who died in the
independence struggle, the people murdered
in Gukurahundi and those displaced
and made homeless in Murambatsvina. The
many hundred who have died during the
democratic struggle up to 2008.
We will celebrate our victory made
sweeter because it is a democratic one
and not one wrought over the innocent
bodies of the people in some sort of
armed struggle, as has been the case in
so many other African States.
Yesterday the Police informed us that they
would not allow any campaigning
they said we could not hold the rally as
planned. We are taking this to
Court today and are planning to go ahead
anyway. What more stupidity can
these people devise next weeks or even days
away from an election and the
main contender is not allowed to campaign? No
press access, no freedom of
association, widespread political violence
against opponents, and attacks on
activists, arbitrary arrests and detention
all translate into elections,
Zanu PF style.
Here we are 7 weeks after
the elections and still not one town council has
taken office, not one MP has
been sworn in, no Senator has taken his seat
and we continue to be governed,
not by the victors but by the defeated that
remain in office illegally and
continue to behave as if it was business as
usual.
A nasty feature of
the present situation is the intensified control over the
distribution and
sale of basic foods. Maize meal is being tightly controlled
and so is sugar.
I expect that other basic foods will follow shortly. These
are being
distributed on a political basis and the recipients are then on
selling at
huge margins. We will take careful note of all who participate in
such
activities and will take appropriate action against them when things
come
right.
I have just heard that Breytentach of the Congo and other misdeeds
has
bought a massive Ranch over 1 million acres with huge potential in
the
Southeast of the country. I also understand he is evicting all the
settlers
and others who have been using the ranch. This makes a complete
mockery of
the so-called land reform exercise and demonstrates that Zanu PF
it totally
corrupt in its business dealings.
Keep it up guys, the
gravy train you are on is going nowhere and soon will
be derailed and we will
then have to pick through the wreckage to decide
what to keep and what to
throw away.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 15th April
2008
Zimbabwe Business Watch : Week 20
Sokwanele
Business is in
total survival mode as it attempts to ride the storm of the post-election
debacle. The RBZ governer is becoming more and more threatening and
authoritarian whilst the country does not hear a squeak from the Minister of
Finance.
The daily limit of cash withdrawals remains at $5 billion despite
the size of the company and the fact that that equates to precisely
USD15.
The new forex system whereby currency is legitimately traded in
commercial banks has seen the government get their hands on more of this vital
commodity. This was no doubt the objective of this liberalization and the net
result is that businesses are being starved of currency which in turn has pushed
the price up dramatically with the USD trading as high as 315 million (billion)
to 1.
Foreign Currency Accounts (FCAs) remain blocked and are now widely
believed to have been poached. Many businesses are indexing prices against
parallel market exchange rates and this is resulting in all prices now being
driven directly by changes in the rate of exchange. The USD on April 17 traded
at 80 million to 1 which therefore translates into potential inflation of 293%
since that date.
On the ground, businesses are desperately trying to pay
their staff and workers who are all now placed in the executive tax bracket. The
administration of employee remuneration is becoming extremely difficult as it is
not permitted to dollarise such costs.
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3 Responses to “Zimbabwe Business Watch : Week
20”
Steve
May 15th, 2008 12:37
1
Clearly, the funds are being used
by the illegitimate, purported government of Zimbabwe to line their own pockets
before the inevitable end. Some time ago there was a move on this site to
protest against the German company which is printing banknotes for the
illegitimate regime. I know that I certainly addressed some e-mails in German
(provided by other users of the site) to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel
and others.
I know that a number of suggestions were made and am sure that
other readers of this site also took steps in this regard. I see that a new 500
million dollar note was launched today. Does anybody have any feedback on the
“stop the German printing campaign”, did anyone receive any responses to their
e-mails? Should this issue not be taken up again as the notes are in fact being
used to pay the footsoldiers of the regime to continue brutalising the
population for having turned against ZANU-PF.
4th Chimurenga
May 15th,
2008 17:10
2
A 10m Zimbabwe dollar note was issued earlier this
year
The central bank has issued a 500m Zimbabwe dollar banknote, worth
US$2, to try to ease cash shortages amid the world’s highest rate of
inflation.
The previous highest denomination note was for Z$250m, issued 10
days ago.
BM
May 15th, 2008 17:20
3
Hi Steve,
I sent numerous
emails to the German company, German bank-workers’ union, German government re
their providing Gono with note-paper to print his gazillions but not a single
reply and no public response I’ve seen. Any ideas for further action?
'War veterans' are cowards
Mmegi
Thursday, 15 May 2008
It is
with a bleeding heart that I pen this article. I have come to a very
sad
realisation. The people who call themselves war veterans in Zimbabwe are
in
fact weak cowards: they fear Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC.
If
indeed these people had fought dangerous wars in the bush, they wouldn't
be
so scared of a mere democratic change of Government. This makes me
believe
that those who parade themselves as liberators of Zimbabwe today are
likely
to have been hiding while the war was raging, or at best chose to
operate in
soft spots. Their mentality betrays them as people who are always
scared of
changes (we have similar people in Botswana, those who scoffed
during
independence "Who does Seretse think he is? Does he think he can
achieve
better results than the British Empire?" after Seretse's death the
very same
people said "Owaii! Gatwe Masire! Rona re ne re itse Seretse").
If we
extrapolate this mentality backwards to the time of the liberation
war, such
people dismissed the liberation movements saying 'Smith is the
man. What do
these new people think they can achieve?' They are traitors;
which helps to
explain how they survived the war without even incurring
injuries when the
real martyrs perished in the bush. These are traitors who
killed worthy
heroes like Josiah Magama Tongogara and Herbert Chitepo in
order to reap
where they didn't sow.
As for people like the Zimbabwe National Defence
Force supreme commander
Constantine Chiwenga and Augustine Chihuri, police
commissioner, they are
scared of the prospect of accounting for the
atrocities they committed
(including the Gukurahundi mass-killings) and
their corrupt mafia dealings
(including those concerning the infamous DRC
misadventure). They are not
even wise enough to realise that they cannot run
away from the international
community forever. Their shenanigans are not
helping their case as they
inadvertently put themselves under the hot
spotlight. I wonder if their
ill-gained loot is denominated in the
freefalling Zim Dollar or in foreign
accounts which can be frozen anytime.
They know for sure that there is no
chance of Tsvangirai returning
repossessed farms to white farmers but they
claim it is the case.
As
for Thabo 'There is no problem in Zimbabwe' Mbeki, does the man still
command even an iota of credibility? I think he does not qualify to inherit
the huge throne of the great Nelson Rolihlahla Madiba Mandela- to occupy the
most prestigious political office in Africa.
Right now there is an
influx of illegal immigrants into his country to such
an extent that mobs
are beating up and even killing some of them for taking
their jobs, but
Mbeki sees nothing happening.
I think Mbeki's mind got frozen in exile.
Who can forget the third term
fiasco? Who can forget when he denied that
there was a disease called AIDS
(while tens of thousands were perishing from
it in his own country)? I think
he must be one of those people who can say
"There is no pipe in my mouth"
while busy smoking it. One just hopes he
smokes nothing more serious than
tobacco.
Montwedi
Mozila
E-MAIL
JAG open letter forum - No. 535
- Dated 15 May 2008
Email: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Please send any
material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to jag@mango.zw with "For Open
Letter Forum" in the subject
line.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barbara,
US
Dear JAG,
I have no political stake in your election. I am,
however very interested in your plight because I am human. I read your papers
online finding myself saddened by the utter brutality being faced by your
citizens. Mussolini, Hitler and now Mugabe joins the long list of dictators who
spoil their land, exploit their people and leave destruction in their wake.
Thousands of miles from your shores am I, yet not so far that I am untouched by
the brutality found with each new day in your papers. To Mugabe, I hesitate to
use the word "Mr." as there are no formalities with this self made monster, I
would say, you will soon pass from this earth leaving no lasting legacy. You
will simply become a part of the soil and will no longer terrorize your people.
This will be a happy day for your country and for humanity. Your fingerprint
will be simply smudged from humankind and your people peaceful again. Good
day.
Barbara
U.S.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.
Trudy Stevenson
Dear JAG,
This is so true - and such a good
reminder. Perhaps we could organise a formal remembrance/thanksgiving day each
year for all these farmers and their workers who have been killed and brutalised
in the past 8 years? It would be wonderful to have a church service for them
all.
Trudy
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sheila
Jarvis
Dear JAG,
Please can you help to quickly STOP this
campaign.
Ii can't imagine anything more likely to unite Africa behind
Mbeki & Mugabe than trying to remove the world cup from this continent, with
Zimbabwe's people just becoming even more of a political football as a result.
There are better alternatives - one being to USE football in Zimbabwe
to help stop the present violence and ensure anyone injured is able to be
treated - set up football camps in every area of the country spreading the
message that an election must be like a football game - a sporting contest
played to international rules.
Players who break such rules [or an
opponent's arms /legs/heads/backbones/fingers] should expect
A. to be
sent off
B. to see any goal their team scores disallowed;
C.
not to have their team recognized by anyone else as legitimate winners of the
game
No doubt those who came up with this campaign and those who have
supported it so far had good intentions; but its result is likely to be more
serious harm to efforts to have free and fair elections here.
There may
be a time when it is needed.
Definitely not now.
Sheila
Jarvis
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All
letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions of the
submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice for
Agriculture.
Anti-foreigner violence spreads in South Africa
Reuters
Thu 15 May
2008, 15:51 GMT
By Phakamisa Ndzamela
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -
South African police fired rubber bullets on
Thursday to quell
anti-foreigner violence that has rattled authorities and
raised fears of
wider clashes in the country's restive townships.
Two people have been
killed and more than four dozen others injured since
the violence began last
Sunday in Alexandra township outside Johannesburg.
Most of the attacks have
been targeted at Zimbabweans and other immigrants.
While senior
government officials rushed to Alexandra to meet community
leaders and
victims, police fought to restore order in Diepsloot, another
township near
Johannesburg, where youths threw stones, set up barricades and
looted
shops.
"Nobody is dead as far as we know. There was one guy who was
injured in the
head last night," police spokeswoman Captain Louise Rees
said. "Apparently
some shacks have been burnt."
She added that nine
people were arrested for public violence. A number of
shops were
looted.
"We are taking it (our stock) because they are looting," Amir
Iqbal, a
naturalised Pakistani-born shopkeeper, said as he packed up goods
from his
shop in Diepsloot, one of several Pakistani-owned businesses that
were
looted.
Some 50 others have been arrested in connection with the
unrest in
Alexandra. They face charges of murder, attempted murder, rape and
robbery
among others.
The violence, which came after a series of
attacks on foreigners across the
country, renewed fears that xenophobia was
rising South Africa, known as one
of the most welcoming to immigrants and
asylum seekers, especially from
Africa.
Some South Africans,
especially those living in areas of high poverty and
unemployment, accuse
Zimbabweans and other newcomers of fuelling the
country's high-rates of
violent crime. The immigrants say more often they
are the victims of
crime.
An estimated 3 million Zimbabweans have fled to South Africa as a
result of
the economic crisis at home.
They, like others on the
continent, are lured by work in South Africa's
mines, farms and homes, and
by one of the world's most liberal immigration
and refugee
policies.
But a perception that it is now open season on this group
threatens to fray
South Africa's relations within Africa and handicap its
buoyant economy,
which is straining under rising inflation, a skills
shortage and a power
crisis.
The ruling African National Congress has
called for an end to the attacks.
"Xenophobia has no place in a
democratic, free country like ours. Our people
should avoid taking out
frustrations they face due to unemployment or crime
on immigrants," ANC
leader Jacob Zuma said in a speech.
Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe
Mapisa-Nqakula pledged government assistance
for victims of the violence on
a visit to Alexandra police station, where
dozens of African immigrants
sought refuge after being attacked by mobs.
(Editing by Paul Simao and
Elizabeth Piper)
Zuma slams xenophobic
riots
The Citizen
5/15/2008 20:57:26
CEDRIC MBOYISA
JOHANNESBURG - ANC president Jacob Zuma
has expressed “outrage” at the
xenophobic violence in Johannesburg
townships.
“Xenophobia has no place in a democratic, free country like
ours,” said
Zuma, who was delivering a keynote speech at the University of
Zululand’s
graduation ceremony yesterday.
He continued: “Our people
should avoid taking out frustrations they face due
to unemployment or crime
on immigrants.”
“We urge people to leave issues of illegal immigration to
government to sort
out through humane legal methods and instruments,” he
told the students.
He pointed out the human rights were enshrined in the
country’s
constitution, and that foreigners were also protected under the
same
constitution.
“The enjoyment of these rights cannot be the
preserve of South Africans
only. True democrats should extend these rights
to all human beings from any
part of the globe, including the African
continent.”
Zuma warned against some residents’ failure to let the law
run its course.
“If there are criminal elements within the immigrant
community as is
alleged, such information should be given to the police.
People should not
take the law into their own hands.”
He said the
Alexandra xenophobic violence should be dealt with before it
spread to other
areas in the country.
“With regards to illegal immigrants, a long-term
approach is required to
assist our neighbours to become more politically
stable and economically
well-off.”
Zuma said: “This will help reduce
the flow of unwanted immigration into
South Africa, and at the same time
create the basis for mutually beneficial
economic trade between South Africa
and our neighbours. We should treat
immigrants with respect and
dignity.”
cedricm@citizen.co.za
The astonishing silence of Thabo Mbeki
The Times, SA
15 May 2008,
16:41 GMT + 2
THE astonishing failure of President Thabo Mbeki to provide
active public
leadership on the xenophobic violence which has plagued our
country over the
last five days is not acceptable.
Yesterday cabinet
issued a statement to the effect that a “task team” would
look into the
problem.
This is a weak response to a fundamental assault on the values that
our
country holds dear.
South Africa does not need some lowly spokesman
issuing a statement about a
task team as people live in fear of rape,
assault and death because of their
nationality.
It needs bold, public and
decisive leadership by the person charged with
running the country.
Mbeki
should be on national television, calling for calm.
He should be mobilising
the armed forces and sending them into the
violence-blighted areas to make a
very loud statement that this country will
not tolerate
discrimination.
It is poignant that it has been left to Jacob Zuma, president
of the ANC, to
make a bold public statement against the
attacks.
“Alexandra today, tomorrow it may be another place… foreigners have
to be
treated properly,” he said.
Zuma holds no power and does not have
the state’s resources at his disposal,
but at least he has offered some sort
of public leadership on this
frightening development.
Zuma’s statement
and Mbeki’s silence is once more playing into the hands of
those who would
like to see a change in government sooner rather than later.
Zuma’s motives
for wanting such an early ascension to office are obvious:
The corruption
case against him would surely collapse were he to occupy the
highest office
in the land.
Mbeki should know that, in politics, absence does not make the
heart grow
fonder. It opens space for competitors, even those with suspect
credentials
such as Zuma, to occupy.
May 15th, 2008 19:20
At the time we left our farm in 2001 my wife and I drew a monthly ’salary’ - living money - from the business of just Z$6000 between us. That is Z$6 of the new imporved money as at 1st Aug 2006!
And I don’t think that would be enough for a crumb of bread now, let alone a slice.
But don’t worry - Mbeki worships Mugabe for these rampant successes. In the same way that Zim money has no meaning any more, I think the English language no longer has words that adequately describe these two cretins.
May 15th, 2008 19:37
New bank notes in a bid to tackle cash shortages = Zeros Ventured, Zero gained.
Therefore: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Gideon Gono quote: “The country is standing on the edge of a cliff which threatens to irreversibly take us downhill if we do not boldly move forward with speed to address most of our shortcomings.” Yes, well, er, how about:
Old habits die hard.
May 15th, 2008 20:09
My first job netted me $83.62c a month. That’s $0.08362 in today’s money or just over 8 cents. If a loaf of bread is 800g then I could buy 2,67 x 10^-7 grammes of bread i.e.
0,000 000 27g. Much less than one crumb.
Why do people choose to use this currency in place of, say, batteries or matches or cigarettes. Just about anything can be used as a unit of exchange as long as it is numerous and uniform and is perceived to be of value to someone somewhere. That’s why prison economies (and some refugee camps in the Congo apparently) work with cigarettes as a unit of exchange, while much of West Africa and other parts of the world functioned fine on cowrie shells for centuries (which had to be fetched from the Indian Ocean and had value as jewellery).
Seriously, someone could define a cut-off date (say, the expiry date of the current notes) as the date beyond which all payments move to some new medium of exchange. It’s a consensus thing, rather like saying who the government is. Perhaps even an on-line medium based on the systems people use to send telephone airtime and fuel home, with some physical token as equivalent. That would create a virtual Zimbabwean economy well beyond the borders of the country, and linked to where the wealth generation now is.
May 15th, 2008 20:28
The banknotes must cost more to print than their value. i don’t understand the logic. My impression is that the economy is running on barter now plus the input of Forex from the diaspora.
May 15th, 2008 21:15
Off-topic
Check out this link. If you have a slow connection, then these are the four steps:
Type in Zimbabwe
Click somewhere on the applet to “get it to focus”
Squint and look top right and select “past year”
Squint and look bottom right and chose “time”
Wait a little - it is doing a big search
And you will see the press coverage for Zimbabwe as a bar chart. Mmmm, which is going up faster - the currency or the press coverage? Well maybe the currency wins but the press coverage ain’t bad.
May 15th, 2008 21:16
And you want the link!