Zimbabwe army speaks on political violence

Zim Online

by Cuthbert Nzou Thursday 08 May 2008

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s army on Wednesday broke its silence on political
violence in the country to reject charges that soldiers have violated human
rights and murdered opposition supporters since March when President Robert
Mugabe’s government suffered electoral defeat.

Army deputy public relations officer, Major Alphios Makotore, said the army
was concerned by the allegations that soldiers have spearheaded a campaign
of violence, torture and murder against opposition supporters to force them
to vote for Mugabe in a second round presidential election.

Zimbabwe holds a presidential run-off poll at a yet unknown date after
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in a March 29 election
but failed to garner more than 50 percent of the vote required to takeover
the presidency.

Makotore said: “The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) wishes to raise concerns
over articles being published in the print and the electronic media on
allegations relating to the alleged political violence, assaults, harassment
and robberies perpetrated by men in army uniforms … the army categorically
distances itself and any of its members from such activities.”

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party accuses the army
of spearheading and directing a campaign of violence and murder by gangs of
ruling ZANU PF party youths and war veterans that the opposition says has
killed 24 of its members and displaced another 5 000, while 800 homesteads
have been burnt down.

The MDC has alleged that the army has deployed more than 200 senior soldiers
to orchestrate violence in what the opposition party has described as a war
being waged by Mugabe against voters in a bid to intimidate them to grant
him another five years in office.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa insisted that the army was heavily involved in
political violence, adding that his party had compiled a full list of army
officers at the forefront of committing human rights abuses.

“We have names of soldiers perpetrating violence,” Chamisa said. “No amount
of denials will take away the fact that the army, police, CIO agents, war
veterans and ZANU PF militia are brutalising our supporters.”

Worsening political violence in Zimbabwe – a country also grappling with its
worst ever economic crisis and food shortages – has raised an outcry by the
international community with United Nations chief Ban Ki-Moon saying on
Monday that he was concerned with the violence, adding he was consulting
African leaders on how to resolve the situation.

The UN Secretary General spoke as the head of the African Union Commission,
Jean Ping, visited Zimbabwe for talks with Mugabe on the country’s deepening
political crisis.

While also this week South African President Thabo Mbeki, the Southern
African Development Community’s mediator in Zimbabwe, dispatched a team of
officials led by Cabinet Minister Sydney Mufamadi to probe post-election
violence in Zimbabwe.

Mufamadi’s team was expected to meet all political players in a bid to find
a solution to the violence and ensure that the second round presidential
ballot is held in a free and fair environment.

No date has been set for the run-off election while Tsvangirai – who
maintains he was cheated of outright victory in the first round poll – is
yet to commit himself to contesting the second round ballot.

Tsvangirai is widely expected to win the run-off poll on the back of a
worsening economic crisis that has fed voter anger against Mugabe and is
marked by an acute shortage of food and the world’s highest inflation of
more than 160 000 percent.

However analysts warn that a violent onslaught by army-backed ZANU PF
against Tsvangirai’s supporters and MDC structures could effectively alter
the political equation and deliver victory to Mugabe. – ZimOnline.

SA delegation to meet Zim opposition today

Zim Online

by Patricia Mpofu Thursday 08 May 2008

HARARE – A team dispatched by South African President Thabo Mbeki to probe
violence in Zimbabwe is scheduled to meet opposition leaders on Thursday
after meeting President Robert Mugabe earlier in the week.

There were no details immediately available on the South African team’s
meeting with Mugabe.

Mbeki is the Southern African Development Community (SADC)’s mediator in
Zimbabwe and promised during discussion with South African church leaders
earlier this week to do everything to end violence that broke out in
Zimbabwe after Mugabe’s lost elections in March.

Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party leader Thokozani Khupe
told ZimOnline that a delegation led by party foreign affairs secretary
Elphas Mukonoweshuro would hold talks with the South African team led by
Sydney Mufamadi.

“We will be meeting them on Thursday,” said Khupe, who is acting leader of
the MDC in the absence of party president Morgan Tsvangirai, who is in
temporary exile where he says he is pursuing a diplomatic campaign to
mobilise regional pressure against Mugabe’s government.

However party insiders say Tsvangirai as well as secretary general Tendai
Biti have gone into exile for fear of their safety in the wake of a campaign
of violence and murder against MDC activists being waged by state security
agents and ruling ZANU PF party militia.

The opposition leader has accused Mbeki of doing little to end Zimbabwe’s
political crisis and has publicly called for the South African leader to be
relieved of his duties as mediator – a call that was rejected by the SADC.

Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in the March vote but a second round presidential
election must be held after electoral authorities said the MDC leader did
not get an outright majority required to takeover the presidency.

The MDC, Western governments and human rights groups have accused Mugabe of
unleashing state security forces and ZANU PF militias against voters in a
bid to scare them to back him in the second round ballot whose date is yet
to be announced.

The MDC says at least 24 of its supporters have been murdered while another
5 000 have been displaced in the violence, which the opposition party has
described as a war by Mugabe against Zimbabweans.

The government however denies the allegation and instead says it is the MDC
that has carried out political violence in a bid to tarnish Mugabe’s name. –
ZimOnline.

Lawyer arrested for utterances made in court

Zim Online

by Sebastian Nyamangambiri Thursday 08 May 2008

HARARE – Zimbabwe police have arrested a lawyer for allegedly making an
insulting statement against the state in court, as President Robert Mugabe
steps up a crackdown on dissension in the aftermath of its first poll defeat
in March.

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the
lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, was being held at Harare Central police station
while the police carry out investigations.

Nkomo allegedly uttered the offending statement while appearing for Frank
Chikowere, a freelance journalist who is facing charges of committing public
violence. Chokowere and 21 opposition activists charged with him were last
week freed on bail.

Bvudzijena said: "He made an insulting statement in court towards the state
and we are investigating him on that issue."

This is not the first time that police have arrested lawyers for offences
allegedly committed while performing their duties in court.

Prominent Harare lawyers Alec Muchadehama and Andrew Makoni were last May
arrested after challenging in court a certificate issued by Home Affairs
Minister Kembo Mohadi barring the courts from granting bail to an opposition
legislator and 12 other activists who were being accused of petrol-bombing
government properties.

The police claimed that Muchadehama and Makoni had, during the bail
application of their clients, uttered words which amounted to obstructing
the course of justice. The lawyers were eventually cleared by the courts, as
were their clients who were not found guilty of the terrorism charges.

Meanwhile the Pan African Parliament (PAP) has said a second presidential
run-off election in Zimbabwe would not solve the country’s political crisis
and could in fact worsen the situation.

Zimbabwe holds a presidential run-off poll at a yet unknown date after
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in a March 29 election
but failed to garner more than 50 percent of the vote required to takeover
the presidency.

Leader of the PAP's observer mission Marwick Khumalo said a political
solution was now required. "We are dealing with a wounded tiger here  . . ,"
he said.

Khumalo said the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission (ZEC) had told him that it
was unlikely to call the run-off election in the prescribed 21 days because
of logistical constraints.

The opposition MDC party, Western governments and human rights groups have
accused Mugabe of unleashing state security forces and ruling ZANU PF party
militias against voters in a bid to scare them to back him in the second
round ballot.

The MDC says at least 24 of its supporters have been murdered while another
5 000 have been displaced in the violence, which the opposition party has
described as a war by Mugabe against Zimbabweans.

The government however denies the allegation and instead says it is the MDC
that has carried out political violence in a bid to tarnish Mugabe’s name.

In its report on the Zimbabwe polls, the PAP said the ZEC had long lost
control of the election process in that country as shown by the inordinate
delay to issue result of the March 29 presidential poll that was finally
released more than a month after voting.

The PAP report read in part: "Judging by the mystery surrounding the outcome
of the presidential results and the unorthodox recounting of the ballots
even before all the results of the harmonised elections are known, it is
evident that the ZEC long lost control of the electoral process and its
constitutional obligation has been gravely compromised."

The ZEC attributed the long delay to the need to closely verify all figures
and said a recount of votes in 23 constituencies delayed the release of the
final result. – ZimOnline.

Lawyer’s Arrest Raises Fear of Broader Crackdown

(Johannesburg, May 7, 2008) – The Zimbabwe government’s politically motivated arrest of prominent human rights lawyer Harrison Nkomo raises fears of a broader crackdown on government critics, Human Rights Watch said today.

The arrest of a leading human rights lawyer may signal the government’s escalation of its crackdown on perceived opponents Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch

“The arrest of a leading human rights lawyer may signal the government’s escalation of its crackdown on perceived opponents,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “It would be unfortunate if Harrison Nkomo became the ‘canary in the coal mine.’ He should be released immediately.”  
 
Nkomo was arrested near his office in central Harare at 2:30 p.m. on May 7, 2008, and is being held at the Law and Order Section of Harare Central Police station. He faces the criminal charges of “insulting or undermining the authority of the head of state” under the Public Order and Security Act of 2002. Nkomo recently defended Barry Bearak, a New York Times correspondent arrested for working without accreditation on April 3, 2008 and held for four days before being deported. Human Rights Watch urged that Nkomo be immediately released and all politically motivated charges dropped.  
 
Nkomo is the first lawyer arrested for apparent opposition activities since the crackdown following the March 29 elections, although others have been harassed. Since the elections, the authorities have arrested more than 100 presiding electoral officers. On April 25, 2008, they arrested more than 200 people who had sought shelter from the government’s terror campaign at the headquarters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Harare. They were held for several days before being released without charge.  
 
Since the March 29 elections, Human Rights Watch has documented a pattern of increasing violence by the ruling ZANU-PF militia and the military against members or supporters of the MDC (http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/25/zimbab18653.htm).  
 
On May 2, 2008, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced the results of the presidential election and said that a runoff was necessary between President Robert Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai (http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/05/02/zimbab18734.htm).  
 
“The ruling party’s continuing brutality against the opposition makes a mockery of the runoff vote,” said Gagnon. “The arrest of a leading human rights lawyer takes the intimidation one step further.”  
 
Background  
 
Human rights lawyer Harrison Nkomo recently secured bail for two journalists, one of whom works for the MDC, which won the recent parliamentary elections. The journalists had been in custody since April 15, 2008 on charges of public violence after being picked up near a bus which burst into flames in Harare on the day the MDC organized a “stay-away” to demand that presidential elections results be announced. The Zimbabwe government claims the bus ignited because of an act of vandalism by the opposition, but independent observers suggest it was an electrical fault. While representing these clients, Nkomo allegedly told a staff member at the Attorney General’s Office, a nephew of Mugabe, that his uncle should leave office. The police are using this allegation to justify this politically motivated charge. The Public Order and Security Act of 2002 introduced a range of overbroad and vague criminal offenses that violate the right to free expression. The law criminalizes criticism of the president, whether his person or his office.  

Zimbabwe Villagers Gripped By Fear As Death Toll From Violence Mounts

VOA

By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
07 May 2008

Villagers around Chiweshe in Zimbabwe's Mashonaland Central Province are
living in fear these days as funeral preparations begin for 11 local members
of the opposition who were beaten to death Monday, allegedly by ruling party
militia members.

Sources in the area said post-mortems were carried out on four bodies at
Concession Hospital mortuary while seven bodies were being held at Howard
Hospital. The injured were ferried to hospitals in the local area and in
Harare, the sources told VOA.

A Zimbabwe Republic Police source said Commissioner General Augustine
Chihuri called a meeting on Wednesday at Morris Depot Sports Club in Harare,
allegedly to organize further violence and to intensify the anti-opposition
campaign which began shortly after March 29 elections in which the
opposition posted large gains.

The source said only inspectors and higher police ranks were involved in the
meeting. The source said more terror teams led by senior police officers
have been dispatched to Shamva, Mazowe and Mount Darwin, also in Mashonaland
Central.

Sources in Shamva South said homes at Logan, Soma and Kief farms were burned
on Tuesday, while at Mukungurutse Farm dwellings were also burned and more
than 70 goats were killed. The sources said some of the victims of the
violence in Shamva South had collected at the Shamva police station late on
Wednesday.

In Murehwa North, in Mashonaland East Province, 21 ZANU-PF youths accused of
burning down three homesteads in Chitowa were released Tuesday on Z$200
million (about US$1) bail apiece. Sources told VOA that Mashonaland East
Governor Ray Kaukonde provided the funds to bail out the suspected
arsonists.

Mazowe North opposition official Biggie Chigonero told reporter Jonga
Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that funeral arrangements were
being made Wednesday for four of the Chiweshe residents killed in this
week's assault.

Zimbabwe Elections: "Voting Tsvangirai will plunge country into civil war"

African Path

May 07, 2008 04:55 PMBy David Baxter

MUTARE – Voting for Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition MDC in
the presidential run–off election expected in three weeks’ time, is
tantamount to plunging the country into a civil war, a high ranking police
officer has warned.

The warning was issued by Senior Assistant Commissioner Mabunda during a
meeting with police officers here on Tuesday, stunned police sources told
zimbabwejournalists.com.

Mabunda is a top lieutenant and confidante to Augustine Chihuri, the police
chief who in the past has issued threats that he will not salute Tsvangirai
or anyone without proper liberation war credentials.

Mabunda is on a countrywide tour – meeting officers of all ranks and warning
them of the dangers of voting for Tsvangirai in the expected run-off
election.

He vowed during the meeting with the police officers here drawn from all the
province’s eight districts that President Robert Mugabe will never be ousted
by Tsvangirai.

Should that happen, Mabunda reportedly said a civil war will immediately
break out. Most junior officers within the army and the police force are
believed to have deserted Mugabe in the ballot box and the warnings by
Mabunda are meant to scare them into doing the ruling party's bidding,
especially now as thousands are being left homeless in a brutal campaign in
the rural communities that supported the opposition in the March 29
elections.

The meeting was held at the police Main Camp on the edge of the city’s
central business district. Officers who attended the meeting said the
atmosphere in the meeting was tense.

“We were told in no uncertain terms that voting for Tsvangirai is just like
voting for war,” said one officer, a constable based at Mutare Central
police station.

The ruling party got fewer votes than the opposition at polling stations in
the March 29 election and some of those booths recording high votes for the
MDC are said to have been within police camps.

“Mabunda told us that anyone who will dare continue supporting or
sympathizing with the MDC will be in serious problems," said another
officer.

The warning by the top police officer coincides with reports of escalating
violence targeted at MDC supporters in both the urban and rural areas.

The violence is widely blamed on state security agents, war veterans and
Zanu PF militants. Thousands of opposition supporters have been displaced
while about 200 have been badly assaulted.

Last Saturday the MDC provincial youth leader for Manicaland, Knowledge
Nyamhoka, was abducted by yet unknown people at midnight from his Sakubva
home and taken to a secluded area where he was badly beaten and left for
dead.

The MDC says Nyamhoka was abducted by security agents. He was rescued by
passersby who found him lying unconscious who took him to a private
hospital, the Seventh Avenue Surgical Unit, where he is recuperating.

Two other youth activists from Nyanga were also rushed to the same hospital
after meeting the same fate as their leader. The MDC chairman in Manicaland,
Patrick Chitaka, said the situation within most opposition strongholds was
fast degenerating and urgent measures should be put in place to avert
genocide from occurring in Zimbabwe.

Election Observers Under Attack in Mt Darwin East

Sokwanele

Zimbabwe Election Support Network
Press Release: 6 May 2008

Zimbabwe Election Support is urgently appealing to the police and political
parties to immediately intervene in putting an end to the ongoing attacks on
accredited election observers in Chibara village in Mt Darwin East. The
attacks are happening now and so far 8 huts have been torched with property
being destroyed. Running battles between observers and these youth are
currently in progress.

Following a Sunday 4th of May 2007 meeting called for by ZANU PF and
addressed by Siyavuma Chikwasha, a former soldier and notorious perpetrator
of assaults on observers in the area, youths from ZANU PF have been on the
rampage targeting and physically beating up anyone thought to have observed
the March 29 election. A marauding band of at least 200 youths led by a war
veteran named Morris Muropa, related to one of the victims, have so far
burnt the huts of 4 observers. The failure by the police to intervene and
protect these citizens has led the observers having to defend themselves and
their property. Known perpetrators include Tambaoga Nyarende, Oriah Nyarende
and Martin Katsande.

The continued targeting of observers by ZANU PF supporters in Mashonaland
East and Central with little or no assistance from the police is not just
worrying but contrary to the Police Commissioner General’s assertion of zero
tolerance to politically motivated violence.

While there have been calls by the National Secretary for Publicity and
Information in ZANU PF for tolerance and peace ahead of the runoff, ZESN
pleads with the party to urge its supporters and structures to abstain from
the continued onslaught on accredited observers including the confiscation
of their t-shirts and accreditation cards which amounts to common criminal
behaviour.

ZESN calls upon all responsible authorities to make sure that perpetrators
of violence are brought to book. ZEC should also publicly explain and
correctly emphasise the role of election observation in ensuring a truly
transparent and democratic dispensation.

ZESN

This entry was written by Sokwanele on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 6:46 pm

Zanu-PF accused of bullying

Financial Times

By Tony Hawkins in Harare

Published: May 7 2008 17:58 | Last updated: May 7 2008 17:58

Robert Mugabe’s supporters have been conducting a sustained and aggressive
campaign of intimidation against up to 1.5m rural farm workers and their
relatives to force them into voting for him in a prospective election
run-off, according to an authoritative report published on Wednesday.

The report by Zimbabwe’s Justice for Agriculture Trust (JAG) catalogues a
“co-ordinated and centrally planned push” to remove the country’s few
remaining white farmers “and bully their workers” as “a backlash” against
the defeat of the ruling Zanu-PF and the president in elections in March.

The report’s publication comes more than a month after the election and amid
increasing indications that the authorities are pushing for further delays
before a proposed run-off between Mr Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the
leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Mr Tsvangirai defeated Mr Mugabe in the first round, but, according to the
state-appointed Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, he did not win the outright
majority necessary to avoid a run-off.

The MDC, however, claims that Mr Tsvangirai passed the threshold of 50 per
cent plus one vote required to win outright. It has disputed the ZEC’s
figures and has formally rejected the idea of competing in a run-off. Behind
the scenes, however, it is debating whether it will have to take part to
avoid, in effect, handing victory to Mr Mugabe.

While regional diplomacy grinds on at a glacial pace, the authorities have
meted out vicious intimidation, according to the report. The farm worker’s
trade union (GAPWUZ) says 40,000 of its members have been affected, many of
them losing their jobs while others have been “savagely beaten” and
hospitalised. Some have fled to the mountains for fear of victimisation.

The report is designed to counter the propaganda in the state media claiming
that rural violence is the work of opposition activists. It gives detailed
accounts of violence and intimidation on and around commercial farms but
there are no details of the reported beatings and intimidation of people in
remoter areas.

The 46-page report “Land, Rhetoric and the Winning of Elections” says the
focus by sections of the international media on white farmers has created “a
useful smokescreen for Mugabe behind which gross human rights violations can
be perpetrated against 1.5m farmworkers and family members”.

Farm invasions began on April 5 and were followed a few days later by the
circulation of a list naming army officers given responsibility for ensuring
the re-election of Mr Mugabe. The report gives exhaustive details of many of
the 142 invasions – affecting 36 per cent of the 400 commercial farmers
remaining in operation.

Zimbabwe: House of Commons Debate

zimbabwejournalists.com

7th May 2008 23:52 GMT

By a Correspondent

UK Parliament

House of Commons

Wednesday 7 May 2008

The Prime Minister was asked—
Q7. Mr. Ken Purchase (Wolverhampton, North-East) (Lab/Co-op): May I tell the
Prime Minister that last week the Wolverhampton trades council organised a
May day celebration that attracted more than 1,000 trade unionists, who paid
tribute to their fellow workers—dock workers—in South Africa who, in a very
principled stand, refused to handle arms to Zimbabwe? May I ask the Prime
Minister to give support to that action and to recognise that where trade
unionists act to intervene on international business for humanitarian aims,
they are to be supported, even though their Governments sometimes look a
little tardy?

The Prime Minister (Mr. Gordon Brown): I have given support to those South
African workers who stopped an arms shipment coming from China that would
have gone to Zimbabwe. At the same time, we have been calling at the United
Nations for an arms embargo, to prevent other arms and armaments from
getting into Zimbabwe at this time. This is a critical time for Zimbabwe. It
is important that we recognise that the African Union, the Southern African
Development Community and all those who have an interest in the future of
Zimbabwe should apply pressure, so that any elections that take place in
Zimbabwe are free and fair, monitored by the whole international community
to be seen as free and fair, so that justice is done in securing for the
Zimbabwean people their democratic rights.

House of Lords

Wednesday 7 May 2008

Zimbabwe

Lord Blaker asked Her Majesty’s Government:
What new policies they have towards Zimbabwe.

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown)
: My Lords, the Zimbabwe crisis must be resolved quickly and in accordance
with the will of the Zimbabwean people. We are engaging with leaders in the
region and the international community to promote a resolution, including
the deployment of sufficient international observers if a second round takes
place. We are pressing for a UN mission to investigate state-sponsored
violence and intimidation. We are also supporting the call for a temporary
arms moratorium until democracy is restored.

Lord Blaker: My Lords, is not the choice of the observers, and the question
whether they serve both before the election and during the election,
absolutely vital? Is it not doubtful whether SADC observers only should be
recruited? They are likely to be biased in favour of Mugabe, as they have
been, and they are briefed by the SADC Secretary-General, who is very
strongly in favour of Mugabe. Do we not have a good opportunity, now that we
are this month in the chair of the Security Council, to go wider in the
appointment of members of the monitoring group? Should we not also think of
the African Union as a suitable reservoir of people to act as observers?
Lastly, should we not be having a debate on Zimbabwe in the present
situation?

Lord Malloch-Brown: My Lords, the noble Lord’s points are very well taken.
We want to internationalise the observer pool as much as possible within the
constraints of time—one could, after all, face a second round as soon as 21
days from now. There were non-SADC observers in the first round; there were
certain observers from the Caribbean. There are also other possibilities to
broaden the pool and sharply increase the numbers. As I have also said, we
are pressing the UN Secretary-General to send an envoy of some kind to look
into both the human rights situation and the intimidation. The previous
Secretary-General’s envoy played a critical role in stopping the violence
around slum clearances.

Lord Lea of Crondall: My Lords, does my noble friend recognise the concern
about South Africa’s silence on this question? Does he agree that the
statements made in London last week by Mr Zuma, the newly elected ANC
chairman, and the action of the stevedores and COSATU members in Durban,
who, in solidarity with Morgan Tsvangirai, would not unload the small arms
shipment, so that the ship had to go back to China, are very encouraging new
voices in the southern Africa scene?

Lord Malloch-Brown: My Lords, I certainly would agree. There has been a
lively debate in South Africa, less about the need for change in Zimbabwe
and more about the means to achieve it, with voices more openly calling for
more robust action. That is widely to be welcomed.

Lord Avebury: My Lords, no doubt the Minister will have noticed that the
African Union currently has a mission in Harare reviewing the whole
electoral process, and he will have seen the comment by Dumisani Muleya in
this morning’s Business Day that the regime has neither the money nor the
logistical capacity to run a second round. In these circumstances, does not
the international community have some leverage to provide not only the
management of the second round, if it takes place, but the protection needed
in the form of security for the members of the opposition who have been
subject to repeated violence so far?

Lord Malloch-Brown: My Lords, this is a critical moment where it appears
that the regime is indeed considering its options and whether it can either
afford a second round or win a second round. When we talk about observers,
it is clear that it is not enough to protect just the sanctity of the
ballot; human lives must be protected as well. I should add that those who
seem most at risk are the ordinary party members and election observers.
Therefore, there will need to be peace in the country at large. This is not
an issue of supporting just a handful of the leaders; we must try to secure
peaceful conditions across the country. The noble Lord is right to say that
an African Union mission is in Zimbabwe, led by the new head of the AU, Jean
Ping, who is looking at the election situation. I think that the AU will
play a critical role between SADC at one end and the UN at the other.

Baroness Park of Monmouth: My Lords, what is the position on the arms
shipment from China? Is there any truth in the claims being made by ZANU-PF
that the arms have actually entered the country? If that is so, it is deeply
important in the context of what the noble Lord has been saying. I know that
the transport federation workers in Angola said that nothing had been landed
and I am sure they meant it; they are very reliable. But it would be helpful
to know the Government’s view on this. Have those arms entered Zimbabwe?
They would only make the situation far more dangerous.

Lord Malloch-Brown: My Lords, the noble Baroness is right to be concerned.
We have absolutely no evidence to suggest that the arms have entered the
country. We believe that the boat is being refuelled and will return from
Luanda to China, based on assurances given to us by the different
Governments involved.

Lord Dubs: My Lords, does my noble friend agree that in the present
situation it would be quite wrong to return Zimbabwean asylum seekers back
to that country? Will he confirm that none is being sent back? Moreover, in
the mean time, would it not be humane to allow them to work while they are
here?

Lord Malloch-Brown: My Lords, the noble Lord is right. Several cases are
currently going through an appeals process, but it has always been the case
that the British Government would not want to return people to a country
where conditions like this prevail.

The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, will the Minister join me in
recognising that in the present crisis, the leaders of the churches in
Zimbabwe have come together in a quite new way to express a moral lead and a
spiritual voice on behalf of the Zimbabwean people? When riot police begin
to break up prayer meetings of the Mothers’ Union, you realise that a
dictatorship has discovered where real power actually lies. As well as the
solidarity and prayer so notably led by the most reverend Primate the
Archbishop of York, I wonder whether there are other ways in which the
international community could enhance the resolution of the leadership of
the churches in Zimbabwe in the present crisis.

Lord Malloch-Brown: My Lords, the right reverend Prelate might be able to
suggest ways in which that could be done. We all applaud the stand of the
churches in Zimbabwe, as we do its civil society more broadly. If this
situation is resolved, it will be because the churches, civil society and
ordinary Zimbabweans have acted with tremendous courage, as have the rest of
the southern African civil society and religious community.

Lord Acton: My Lords, following my noble friend’s comments on SADC
observers, is it British policy to back as strongly as possible the
diplomatic efforts of the more positive SADC countries?

Lord Malloch-Brown: My Lords, what has got lost in this is that a growing
group of SADC countries is playing a real leadership role. The leaders of
Tanzania, Botswana, Zambia and other countries are all pressing for a
resolution of the situation in the same direction as I think the House would
wish to see.

Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai Insists No Runoff Before First-Round Verification

VOA

By Blessing Zulu and Carole Gombakomba
Washington
07 May 2008

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai insisted Wednesday that he
will not face off against President Robert Mugabe in a presidential runoff
election before the first round results issued by the country's electoral
commission have been verified.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said late last week that Tsvangirai took
47.9% of the vote in the March 29 election, compared with 53.2% for Mr.
Mugabe, concluding that a runoff election would have to be held as no
candidate topped 50%.

Tsvangirai also urged that the United Nations dispatch a fact-finding
mission to look into the wave of political violence that has hit rural
communities since the elections, in which his Movement for Democratic Change
posted significant gains against the Mr. Mugabe's long-ruling ZANU-PF,
taking control of parliament's lower house.

Opposition officials and civic organizations have charged that the violence
is backed by ZANU-PF and the government, including the army, a charge which
Rural Affairs Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mr. Mugabe's election agent,
disputes.

Mnangagwa says the opposition itself is responsible for the violence. The
government has made the same case to envoys and delegations seeking to
resolve the crisis.

Tsvangirai told reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
as he has stated since the runoff was mooted, he does not believe a second
round is needed.

Meanwhile, both ZANU-PF and the MDC are contesting the outcome of
parliamentary results in a total of 105 constituencies. The state run-Herald
newspaper said ZANU-PF is contesting results in 53 constituencies, while the
MDC is challenging results in 52. But other sources said the MDC is
contesting results  in 60 constituencies.

The Herald reported that Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku has had to name
17 more electoral judges to handle the overwhelming number of petitions.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told VOA that ZANU-PF should not be challenging
the results because the electoral process was entirely controlled by the
ruling party. He charged that ZANU-PF is merely seeking to delay the opening
of parliament, now dominated by the opposition for the first time in the
history of the nation.

Political analyst Chido Makunike told reporter Carole Gombakomba of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the electoral petitions render the electoral
process null and void as it is clear neither party is ready to accept the
outcome of the March 29 ballots.

Bindura villagers endure Zanu 'cleansing'

The Zimbabwean

Wednesday, 07 May 2008 21:28
…but vow to vote MDC again
BY MELODY CHAITWA
BINDURA
A month after Bindura South Constituency, for the first time, went to
the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), villagers in ward 16 of the
constituency are tasting the bitterness of voting for the party they
believed would bring democracy and economic recovery to Zimbabwe.
The people of Ward 16 voted overwhelmingly for the MDC with Zanu
((PF)) losing in all the categories, presidential, council, parliamentary
and senatorial.
Upon realising that the people had dumped them, Zanu ((PF)) officials
in the area are now on a trail of avenging their loss by terrorising the
villagers and forcing them to attend their meetings.
Last Friday Ward 16 residents were force-marched to a bushy area where
Zanu ((PF)) officials forced them confess their 'sin' of voting for and
supporting the MDC.
The villagers were forced to surrender their MDC t-shirts and cards or
face another war in which their houses would be burnt and their families
killed.
They were then forced to sing songs of the liberation war. The
following day they were once again disturbed from their harvesting and
summoned to another 'cleansing' meeting.
However, they decided that was enough and refused to be intimidated
any longer.
"I am an MDC member at heart and no amount of intimidation can change
what is in my heart, if there is another election I will vote for the MDC
again," said one woman.
"I will say their slogan but that will not change my mind, after all
our new councillor and member of parliament are MDC," said a retired
engineer who was bundled to the meeting.
The MDC councillor for Ward 16, Nehemiah Mhembere went to one of the
meetings to warn the Zanu ((PF)) officials not to scare his supporters.
"I can not allow them to punish my supporters for making their choice
and I will visit their (the ZANU ((PF)) officials and local war veterans)
homes to tell them to stop this," said Mhembere.
He also said he feared that his supporters would be subjected to the
terrible torture being committed against perceived MDC supporters
countrywide and said he would 'press every button to make sure that his ward
was safe'.

ZCTU warns Zanu (PF)

The Zimbabwean

Wednesday, 07 May 2008 21:29
BY PINDAI DUBE
BULAWAYO - The country's largest labour union body Zimbabwe Congress
of Trade Union (ZCTU) has warned Robert Mugabe his Zanu (PF) youth militia
and war veterans to stop unleashing rein of terror against its members in
the opposition MDC otherwise it will now instruct them to retaliate to which
Zanu (PF) youth militia will ever regret..
MDC was formed from the ZCTU in 1998 and the labour union body is the
backbone of the country's main opposition party just like the Congress of
South Africa Trade Union (COSATU) which is the main backer of the ruling
South Africa's Africa National Congress (ANC).
ZCTU in statement released to the media on last week the labour body
warned former president Mugabe, war veterans and the Zanu (PF) youth
militias to stop beating and killing its members in the MDC because the
labour union will soon instruct its members to retaliate and serious
violence will broke out around the country and Mugabe and his supporters
will regret.
"We would like to urge Robert Mugabe, his Zanu (PF) party, war
veterans and youth militia to stop beating up and killing our members in the
main opposition MDC otherwise we will instruct them to retaliate to which
Mugabe and his cronies will regret," said ZCTU in its press statement.
Just few days after the March 29 elections when Mugabe and his Zanu
(PF) party realized that they had lost both parliamentary and presidential
elections war veterans, soldiers and green bombers set up bases especially
in rural areas where they have murdered, tortured and beaten up MDC
supporters.

SA opposition demands Mbeki probe

The Zimbabwean

Wednesday, 07 May 2008 21:28
… lamenting lack of action on Zim
BY CHIEF REPORTER
HARARE
South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance has called for a
parliamentary discussion on Zimbabwe's worsening human rights violations and
the drawn out post election  crisis.
DA parliamentary leader Sandra Botha moved a motion in the South
African Parliament Tuesday on the post-election crisis in Zimbabwe, and
"more specifically, probing President Mbeki and the South African
government's distinct lack of action on the matter."
Her comments echo those of a variety of prominent leaders who have
demanded stronger condemnation of the actions of Robert Mugabe's military
junta.
With Zimbabwe's MDC complaining that ZEC has fraudulently allocated
87,000 votes cast for Morgan Tsvangirai to Simba Makoni, there is pressure
on South Africa to play a greater role in ensuring that the stand off is
resolved, in contrast to the March 2002 presidential election which was
panned by some observers as "daylight robbery".
Botha has also taken up the issue with a representative of SA Minister
of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, presenting a letter detailing a
series of DA proposals to help bring about an end the post-election violence
and the political stalemate in Zimbabwe.
"If the Zimbabwean government failed to meet these demands, we
proposed that South Africa pursue more stringent measures - such as imposing
targeted travel and financial sanctions on Zanu ((PF))'s ruling elite,
calling for an international arms embargo on the country, and condemning
publicly both Mugabe and his government for their refusal to adhere to the
mandate of the Zimbabwean people," Botha said.
"Yet despite having received these proposals, and regardless of the
overwhelming number of continued calls from regional and international
bodies and political leaders for South Africa to take a principled and
decisive stance on this urgent matter, our government - following the
example of President Mbeki's unrelenting state of denial - has yet to
respond to the crisis in any significant way."
Human Rights Watch said last week that "in Zimbabwe, the run off is
likely to unfold in a climate of repression and intimidation".
It said pressure should be placed on leaders of the Southern African
Development Community (Sadc) to push Mugabe to ensure a free and fair run
off.
The organisation said "the human rights situation in Zimbabwe
continues to be of grave concern (and) the government continues to use (its)
laws to suppress criticism of government and public debate".
There have been indications recently that the African National
Congress (ANC) is turning up the volume of its "quiet diplomacy".
Last week, ANC leader Jacob Zuma expressed criticism of the Zimbabwean
political climate. He said the ANC "have been concerned about several
things" and had put pressure on Zanu ((PF)) to strictly adhere to the Sadc
election protocol.
Former Truth and Reconciliation Commission chairman Archbishop Desmond
Tutu also made headlines when he noted Zimbabwe's human rights abuses and
asked whether government's "quiet diplomacy" approach to Zimbabwe was
working.
Other prominent leaders, including Congress of South African Trade
Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, have raised their
concerns over human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
Although the tripartite alliance of the ANC, Cosatu and South African
Communist Party says that it has reached broad agreement on issues including
Zimbabwe, this could be tested by ZEC's alleged electoral fraud.

Foreign Exchange rates skyrocket in Zimbabwe

afrik.com

Exchange rates in Zimbabwe, artificially fixed by the government for a
long time, shot up sharply on Wednesday after the central bank liberalised
them last week, dealers said.

Thursday 8 May 2008

The Zimbabwe dollar, until now pegged at Z$30,000 to the greenback, was on
Wednesday trading at Z$185 million=US$1 on the formal market following the
liberalisation.

This was even higher than the Z$145 million to the greenback which obtained
on the parallel market at the weekend.

The central bank, citing the need to support exporters and stimulate
exports, last week liberalised exchange rates after keeping a tight official
lid on them for years.

Dealers said they expected rates to go up further as supply was tight with
huge industrial demand. "We are in the early stages of ascendancy (of the
rates)," a banker said.

But cash shortage at banks, due to high inflation, is forcing people with
hard currency to still patronise the black market.

Cash withdrawals in banks are limited, and so are cash transactions for
foreign currency trading on the formal market.

As a result, black market dealers are cashing in on the formal market’s cash
handicap, and even offering lower rates of around Z$160 million to the
greenback to stranded sellers. Panapress .

Violence precludes Zim run-off

News24

07/05/2008 20:32  - (SA)

Pretoria - A presidential election run-off in Zimbabwe cannot take place
given the current levels of violence, the head of a South African contingent
of regional election observers said on Wednesday.

"We have seen it, there are people in hospital who said they have been
tortured, you have seen pictures, you have seen pictures of houses that have
been destroyed and so on," Kingsley Mamabolo told reporters.

Mamabolo said an eight-person team is currently in Zimbabwe charged by SA
President Thabo Mbeki to investigate claims of violence that have been
levelled by both the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and
veteran ruler Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.

Mamabolo would not give details of the itinerary or agenda for the
fact-finding team dispatched by Mbeki in his role as chief mediator on
Zimbabwe for the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC).

"As mediator and facilitator, he could not just sit around hearing all these
stories. So he has sent the team," said Mamabolo.

"We need to know what the scale of the violence is and who is doing it."

The team will report to the president and recommend ways of addressing the
violence, he added.

The MDC says 25 of its supporters have been killed in the violence following
elections on March 29 in which Zanu-PF lost its parliamentary majority and
Mugabe suffered a first round defeat to MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

A run-off should in theory take place later this month, but electoral
officials have dropped strong hints that it could be delayed.

NamPower secretive about Zim coal loan

The Namibian

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - Web posted at 7:36:51 GMT

BRIGITTE WEIDLICH
NAMPOWER has guaranteed a US$16 million loan to an unnamed Namibian
company to enter into a joint venture with a Zimbabwean coal-mining
enterprise.

It comes on top of the US$40 million that NamPower advanced to
Zimbabwe's coal-fired Hwange power station last year in return for 40
megawatts of electricity supply to Namibia.

John Kaimu, NamPower's Marketing and Corporate Communications Manager,
yesterday confirmed the parastatal's role as the facilitator of the loan
guarantee but declined to identify the recipient.

The loan will facilitate the anonymous Namibian company's business
with Zimbabwe's Hwange Colliery, which supplies coal to the Hwange power
station.

"It is a matter between the Zimbabweans and the Namibian company,"
Kaimu said, despite probing by The Namibian.

"There is no need for NamPower to get involved in coal mining," Kaimu
told The Namibian.

"But we identified the necessity that increased coal production was
required in Zimbabwe back then when we were thinking of supplying the Hwange
power station with a loan for refurbishment to reach its 480 MW capacity,"
Kaimu added.

"We merely acted as a facilitator for this US$16 million loan via the
Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI)," he added.

Four Namibian companies were apparently shortlisted and the
Zimbabweans chose one of them."

NCCI boss Tarah Shaanika said he could not remember which four
companies, saying the NCCI also acted just as a go-between, informing its
members that such an investment opportunity was open in Zimbabwe.

"Our members were requested to directly get into contact with
NamPower," Shaanika told The Namibian.

The Namibian bank backing up the loan is said to be Nedbank, a source
in electricity circles told The Namibian.

According to the Zimbabwean newspaper The Herald, "the money would be
released through some banks in Namibia and would be guaranteed by NamPower."

The still to be identified Namibian company has come to the rescue of
a cash-strapped Hwange Colliery in Zimbabwe, which is badly in need of
expanding and recapitalising to produce more coal to feed that country's
coal-fired power stations.

According to the Zimbabwean news reports, the NamPower board of
directors decided last week to apparently guarantee the US$16 million (about
N$120 million) loan.

The money search was also facilitated through NamPower, which already
forked out US$40 million last year to the Hwange power station in Zimbabwe.

NamPower pays for that electricity, but at a cheaper and preferential
price, and the difference with the actual price per megawatt (MW) is
regarded as the loan 'repayment'.

JAG special appeal communique, Dated 7 May 2008

Email: jag@mango.zw : justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw

JAG Hotlines: +263 (011) 610 073, +263 (04) 799 410.  If you are in trouble
or need advice, please don't hesitate to contact us - we're here to help!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------
WYNAND HART ... APPEAL FOR FUNDS

Before being removed from his property, Wynand Hart farmed in the
Battlefields area.  He was Vice Chairman of the Battlefields Farmers
Association and Ward Member of the Kadoma Rural District Council.

Further he was the Area Representative for the Wildlife Producers
Association and later became the National Vice Chairman.

He then became a founder member of JAG, working in particular on the Loss
Document which is of great importance to all displaced farmers.

When the Coalition for Compensation and Restitution (a body uniting many
farmers' organisations in the pursuit of compensation/restitution) was
formed in 2003, he became a member, working closely with the Vice Chairman,
John Laurie, where he provided significant input into all areas of the work,
including meetings with the World Bank, Heads of diplomatic missions, etc.
Throughout this period he received no form of remuneration for costs
incurred.

With no financial reserves to fall back on after losing his farm, Wynand
worked as Commercial Manager for the National Dairy Co-op where he was
largely involved with the procurement of inputs for farmers in the dairy
industry.

Tragically, Wynand was diagnosed with cancer early in 2008 and is having to
be treated in South Africa, including having an operation in the area of the
stomach/small intestine.

His foreign currency assets have now been exhausted and I am appealing on
his behalf for financial assistance.

His contribution and tireless efforts towards full and fair compensation for
displaced farmers has been invaluable and so willingly and unstintingly
given at all times.

Now that Wynand, having gone through so much hardship, finds himself in this
dire situation health wise, I feel it is only right that we find ways to
relieve him of the financial burden of his illness so that he can receive
the full medical treatment he desperately requires.

A. John Laurie
Tel: 744140, 011 221 002

JAG encourages well-wishers to support this appeal.

Bank Account details:-

Highveld Medi Clinic
ABSA
A/C No. 1510150127
Branch Code: 632005
W. Hart File No. 70556

Zim clubs cannot afford to fly

17:16 GMT, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 18:16 UK

Massive inflation means the clubs cannot pay for travel Zimbabwe's Dynamos may have to pull out of their Champions League tie with title holders Etoile du Sahel in Tunisia. The Harare side cannot afford the cost of travel, following changes to the country's currency laws last week. The US$50,000 price tag now translates as 10 trillion Zimbabwe dollars. Before the rule change it would have cost them 300 billion Zimbabwe dollars, but they no longer have access to that exchange rate. Highlanders of Bulawayo may also have to pull out of their Confederation Cup trip to Sudan, where they are due to play El Merreikh. Both sides are trying to raise the extra cash, and Dynamos are still hoping to fly on Thursday. Holders Etoile may get a bye into the group stages The club has asked the government for help in paying the bill. Dynamos caused the shock of the last round of matches, with a 1-0 win over Etoile in the first leg of their tie in Harare. If they do make it to Tunisia, they will have very little time to prepare for the match - which is scheduled to be played in Sousse on Saturday. Pulling out of the tie would give the holders, Etoile, a free pass in to the group stage of the competition.

Govt Begins Disbursement of Doctors' Cars

The Herald (Harare)  Published by the government of Zimbabwe

7 May 2008
Posted to the web 7 May 2008

Harare

Government has started disbursing hundreds of brand new cars to doctors
countrywide as efforts to retain critical staff intensify, the Minister of
Health and Child Welfare, Dr David Parirenyatwa, said yesterday.

Speaking in a telephone interview from Harare, Dr Parirenyatwa said health
workers from various disciplines were benefiting from the 450 vehicles
bought by the Government. He explained that the scheme was not confined to
doctors only, but was being extended to nurses, biochemists and laboratory
technicians.

Dr Parirenyatwa said the cars were being distributed in all the country's 10
provinces. "We have already given out 450 cars and more vehicles are coming.
"We hope to cover all medical practitioners soon," he said. Dr Parirenyatwa
said health workers who had not yet received the cars would be catered for
in the next phase. The Deputy Minister, Dr Edwin Muguti, said the vehicle
scheme was an ongoing national programme. President Mugabe gave out 450 cars
to senior and middle-level doctors at Government hospitals as part of
efforts to stem the brain drain of health professionals.

President Mugabe is on record as saying the Government would construct
doctors' houses within two years.

The country has over the years been losing its doctors to neighbouring and
overseas countries owing to uncompetitive salaries and unsatisfactory
working conditions.