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From ZWNEWS, 18 September

Class of 79

The European Commission on Monday announced an extension of the list of individuals subject to targeted sanctions. The European Council of Ministers decided last week to extend the list to 79 persons, to reflect the recent cabinet reshuffle by President Mugabe. The list of persons previously subject to the ban previously stood at 72. The full list of persons is as below:

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1643/2002 of 13 September 2002 amending, for the third time, Council Regulation (EC) No 310/2002 concerning certain restrictive measures in respect of Zimbabwe

List of persons, entities and bodies referred to in Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 310/2002

1. Mugabe, Robert Gabriel President, born 21.2.1924, Kutama; 2. Buka, Flora Minister of State for Land Reform Programme (former Minister of State in Vice President Muzenda's Office), born 25.2.1968; 3. Charamba, George Information Minister's Permanent Secretary and Spokesman; 4. Charumbira, Fortune Deputy Minister for Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, born 10.6.1962; 5. Chigwedere, Aeneas Education, Sports and Culture Minister, born 25.11.1939; 6. Chihuri, Augustine Commissioner (Police), born 10.3.1953; 7. Chikowore, Enos Secretary for Land and Resettlement, born 1936; 8. Chinamasa, Patrick Justice Minister, born 25.1.1947; 9. Chindori-Chininga, Edward Mines and Energy Minister, born 14.3.1955; 10. Chiwenga, Constantine Lt Gen (Army), born 25.8.1956; 11. Chiwewe, Willard Ministry of Foreign Affairs Senior Secretary, born 19.3.1949; 12. Chombo, Ignatius Local Govt Minister, born 1.8.1952; 13. Dabengwa, Dumiso Senior Committee Member, born 1939; 14. Goche, Nicholas Security Minister, born 1.8.1946; 15. Gumbo, Rugare Deputy Minister, Home Affairs, born 8.3.1940; 16. Hove, Richard Secretary for Economic Affairs, born 1935; 17. Karimanzira, David Secretary for Finance, born 25.5.1947; 18. Kasukuwere, Saviour Deputy-Secretary for Youth Affairs, born 23.10.1970; 19. Kuruneri, Christopher Deputy Minister, Finance and Economic Development, born 4.4.1949; 20. Lesabe, Thenjiwe Secretary for Women's Affairs, born 1933; 21. Machaya, Jaison Deputy Minister for Mines and Mining Development, born 13.6.1952; 22. Made, Joseph Agricultural Minister, born 21.11.1954; 23. Madzongwe, Edna Deputy-Secretary for Production and Labour, born 11.7.1943; 24. Mahofa, Shuvai Deputy Minister for Youth Development, Gender and Employment Creation, born 4.4.1941; 25. Makoni, Simbarashe Minister of Finance, born 22.3.1950; 26. Malinga, Joshua Politburo Deputy Secretary, Deputy-Secretary for Disabled and Disadvantaged, born 28.4.1944; 27. Mangwana, Paul Minister of State for Enterprises and Parastatals (former Deputy Minister, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs), born 10.8.1961; 28. Mangwende, Witness Minister for Transport and Communications (former Deputy-Secretary for Administration), born 15.10.1946; 29. Manyika, Elliot Youth Minister, born 30.7.1955; 30. Manyonda, Kenneth Deputy Minister for Industry and International Trade, born 10.8.1934; 31. Marumahoko, Reuben Deputy Minister for Energy and Power Development, born 4.4.1948; 32. Masuku, Angeline Politburo Secretary, Secretary for Disabled and Disadvantaged Person's Welfare, born 14.10.1936; 33. Mathuthu, T Deputy-Secretary for Transport and Social Welfare; 34. Midzi, Amos Bernard Muvenga Minister for Energy and Power Development, born 4.7.1952; 35. Mnangagwa, Emmerson Parliamentary Speaker, born 15.9.1946; 36. Mobeshora, Swithun Transport and Communications Minister, born 20.8.1945; 37. Mohadi, Kembo Minister for Home Affairs (former Deputy Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing), born 15.11.1949; 38. Moyo, Jonathan Information Minister, born 12.1.1957; 39. Moyo, July Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister, born 7.5.1950; 40. Moyo, Simon Khaya Deputy-Secretary for Legal Affairs, born 1945; 41. Mpofu, Obert Deputy-Secretary for National Security, born 12.10.1951; 42. Msika, Joseph Vice President, born 6.12.1923; 43. Muchena, Olivia Minister of State for Information and Publicity (former Minister of State in Vice-President Msika's Office), born 18.8.1946; 44. Muchinguri, Oppah Secretary for Gender and Culture, born 14.12.1958; 45. Mudenge, Stan Foreign Minister, born 17.12.1941, Zimutu Reserve; 46. Mugabe, Grace Spouse of Robert Mugabe, born 23.7.1965; 47. Mugabe, Sabina Politburo Senior Committee Member, born 14.10.1934; 48. Mujuru, Joyce Minister for Rural Resources and Water, born 15.4.1955; 49. Mujuru, Solomon Senior Committee Member, born 1949; 50. Mumbengegwi, Samuel Higher Education and Technology Minister, born 23.10.1942; 51. Murerwa, Herbert Minister for Finance and Economic Development (former Minister for Industry and International Trade), born 31.7.1941; 52. Mushohwe, Christopher Deputy Minister, Transport and Communications, born 6.2.1954; 53. Mutasa, Didymus Secretary for External Relations, born 27.7.1935; 54. Mutiwekuziva, Kenneth Deputy Minister, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, born 27.5.1948; 55. Muzenda, Simon Vengesai Vice-President, born 28.10.1922; 56. Muzenda, Tsitsi Politburo Senior Committee Member, born 28.10.1922; 57. Muzonzini, Elisha Brig. (Intelligence), born 24.6.1957; 58. Ncube, Abedinico Deputy Minister, Foreign Affairs, born 13.10.1954; 59. Ndlovu, Naison Secretary for Production and Labour, born 22.10.1930; 60. Ndlovu, Sikhanyiso Deputy-Secretary for Commissariat, born 20.9.1949; 61. Nhema, Francis Environment and Tourism Minister, born 17.4.1959; 62. Nkomo, John Special Affairs in the President's Office (former Home Affairs Minister), born 22.8.1934; 63. Nkomo, Stephen Senior Committee Member, born 1925; 64. Nyoni, Sithembiso Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Development (former Minister of State, Informal Sector), born 20.9.1949; 65. Parirenyatwa, David Minister, Health and Child Welfare (former Deputy Minister), born 2.8.1950; 66. Pote, S M Deputy-Secretary for Gender and Culture; 67. Rusere, Tinos Deputy Minister for Rural Resources and Water Development, born 10.5.1945; 68. Sakupwanya, Stanley Deputy-Secretary for Health and Child Welfare; 69. Sekeramayi, Sidney Defence Minister, born 30.3.1944; 70. Shamuyarira, Nathan Secretary for Information and Publicity, born 29.9.1928; 71. Shiri, Perence Air Marshal (Air Force), born 1.11.1955; 72. Shumba, Isaiah Deputy Minister, Education, Sports and Culture, born 3.1.1949; 73. Sikhosana, Absolom Politburo Secretary, Secretary for Youth Affairs; 74. Stamps, Timothy Health and Child Welfare Minister, born 15.10.1936; 75. Tawengwa, Solomon Politburo Deputy Secretary, Deputy-Secretary for Finance, born 15.6.1940; 76. Tungamirai, Josiah Secretary for Employment and Indigenisation, born 8.10.1948; 77. Utete, Charles Cabinet Secretary, born 30.10.1938; 78. Zimonte, Paradzai Prisons chief; 79. Zvinavashe, Vitalis General (CDS), born 1943.

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From The Guardian (UK), 18 September

The real victims of land seizures

Mugabe neglects plight of thousands of evicted farm workers

Andrew Meldrum in Harare

The worst victims of Robert Mugabe's land seizures are not the few thousand white farming families being evicted from their farms. Those suffering the most are the hundreds of thousands of black farm workers who are losing their jobs, being thrown out of their homes, often violently, and who will make up an enormous new landless class. As Zimbabwe's parliament yesterday considered new legislation to speed up the seizure of white-owned land, Mr Mugabe's ministers made no mention of the growing crisis of homeless black farm workers and their families. But trade unions, aid agencies and human rights groups are very concerned about their rapidly worsening plight.

James Sani, 26, has been homeless since March 15 when he was thrown off the farm where he worked in the northern Marondera area. He and other workers on Chipesa farm had been badly beaten by Mr Mugabe's supporters on several occasions. After Mr Mugabe won the disputed presidential elections in March the farm workers were attacked with even greater ferocity by a large group armed with iron bars, clubs and rocks. "They were beating everybody," Mr Sani says. "People got broken arms and legs and fractured skulls. We ran away. We could see them set fire to our homes and destroy all our belongings. They killed our goats and cattle. We were forced to sleep in the open, with no clothes, no pots and pans, no belongings." Mr Sani is one of the lucky ones. He, his wife and young daughter have found shelter in a small, tented camp for evicted farm workers. But the camp, south of Harare, and the few others like it across the country are housing only a few thousand people and are dwarfed by the huge numbers in need of assistance. "We are happy to be in this place," Mr Sani says, proudly showing the rows of tents and the makeshift nursery school. "But this is just temporary. I want to start a new life, to find a job or to get somewhere to farm, but things are very difficult."

About 150,000 labourers have been evicted from seized farms, and when their families are included that figure grows to 780,000, according to a new survey by the Zimbabwe Community Development Trust (ZCDT). "The numbers are mind-boggling," says Canon Timothy Neil, director of the ZCDT. "According to our survey only 35,000 farm workers had some form of alternative place to live, either on a resettlement scheme or a family home to return to. The overwhelming number had nowhere to go, and on average they had sufficient food for only 54 days. In two months we are going to see this huge group going hungry. It is frightening." The ZCDT survey also shows that more than 10,000 orphans and 14,000 elderly people who had lived on the farms will now be homeless. "These are the most vulnerable," Canon Neil said. "Across the country, there are people living by the side of the road and moving to the outskirts of towns. It is a shifting, roaming population that needs assistance." The ZCDT is distributing blankets and food. Another group, the Farm Community Trust, is providing food for 80,000 children in central Zimbabwe, and the Farm Orphan Support Trust is helping children in the eastern part of the country. The Mugabe government has largely ignored the plight of the farm workers. Despite assurances that the workers will be allocated land, very few have been accepted for resettlement. The government did insist that workers be paid "termination packages" by the white farmers being thrown off their land. In the Raffingora area, 125 miles north-west of Harare, farm workers have been paid Z$500,000 to Z$800,000 (£5,600 to £8,900). These are unimaginable riches to the workers. "It is like Christmas. People are buying things like mad, shoes, bicycles and fancy biscuits," one local resident said. "But much of the money is being squandered on booze and women. I saw a worker offer a girl Z$3,000 for a kiss! These pay packages will not last long. They cannot make up for a lost job or a lost home."

International aid organisations are beginning to respond to the crisis, but they are hampered by the government's attitude that the farm workers are supporters of the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change and therefore not entitled to new land or assistance. The ZCDT leased land in northern Zimbabwe in August to give plots to 160 ex- farm families. But as 17 workers dug trenches for latrines, they were arrested, jailed and eventually charged with "undergoing training to become terrorists". Another problem for the farm workers is that most have recently lost their Zimbabwean citizenship because their parents were born in foreign countries. Most farm workers' parents came from Malawi and Mozambique and according to a new law they were classified as "permanent residents" in Zimbabwe instead of full citizens. Wireless Chipoka, 74, is a plucky, enterprising man who had worked on a large farm since 1955. He rose to become head foreman and had planned to retire on the farm. "I was beaten by the war veterans," he says, showing a scar on his head, "and they chased us away. Now we are struggling and we don't know what to do. I would like to do farming. I am still strong. But my parents were born in Malawi and the government says I cannot get land."

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MSNBC

Jurists concerned at judge's arrest in Zimbabwe



GENEVA, Sept. 18 - The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) expressed
deep concern on Wednesday at the arrest of a retired judge in Zimbabwe on
charges of corruption and obstructing justice.
       The Geneva-based body said that the charging of white former High
Court Judge Fergus Blackie, who has been released on bail after spending
last weekend in jail, marked a ''further and serious erosion in the rule of
law in Zimbabwe.''
       ''The context and circumstances of the arrest strongly point to a
political motive in the government's actions,'' the ICJ said in a statement,
registering its ''deep concern.''
       Blackie, who clashed with the government of President Robert Mugabe
when he ordered the arrest of the justice minister earlier this year, is
accused of irregularly overturning a white woman's conviction for fraud last
May.
       The former judge, who was released on $180 bail on Monday, faces a
mandatory jail term if convicted.
       The ICJ, a non-governmental organisation composed of some 45 jurists
and legal experts, said that it feared that the judge's case would
''dissuade other judges from exercising independence when their decisions
might run contrary to government policy.''
       Blackie, 65, who was appointed a judge two years before Zimbabwe's
independence in 1980, has been pilloried in the official media as a racist,
something he denies.
       Mugabe clashed with the judiciary after the country's Supreme Court
ruled against his seizures of white-owned farms for landless blacks, earning
a strongly worded reprimand from the United Nations special rapporteur for
the independence of judges and lawyers.

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Sunday Times (SA)

SA farmer appears in Zimbabwe court

By Marleen Smith

Free State farmer Crawford von Abo appeared in court in Zimbabwe today on a
charge of contravening that country's Land Acquisition Act, said Andries
Botha, Democratic Alliance spokesman on rural safety.

Botha, who attended the court sitting in Mwenezi in the Zimbabwean Lowveld,
said Von Abo appeared along with 14 other accused, nine of whom are South
African citizens.

Their cases were postponed until 15 November, permitting them to return to
their Zimbabwean farms in the Mwenezi area in the meantime, Botha said.

He slammed the South African government for showing no sign of assistance to
the South African accused.

"The South African government sent no official representative to witness or
assist with this morning's court proceedings.

"It has come to light that the South African High Commissioner in Zimbabwe
is currently surveying the extent to which South African citizens are
exposed to Zimbabwe's land redistribution programme.

"It is not clear to the DA why such a survey is being carried out, given
Deputy President Jacob Zuma's statement in Parliament last week that the
government cannot intervene in Zimbabwe," Botha said after the Mwenezi
hearing.

Von Abo was arrested on August 19 by armed Zimbabwean militia on his farm
Fauna in the Zimbabwean lowveld, along with farm manager Willem Klopper.
They were accused of contravening president Robert Mugabe's land reform
legislation by refusing to leave the farm.

Von Abo insisted that Fauna was earlier taken off the so-called Section 8
list, marking white Zimbabwean farmers for eviction.

He earlier said that he expected of the South African government to protect
his property rights in Zimbabwe. He saw this as part of his civil rights as
a South African citizen.
SA farmer appears in Zimbabwe court

By Marleen Smith

Free State farmer Crawford von Abo appeared in court in Zimbabwe today on a
charge of contravening that country's Land Acquisition Act, said Andries
Botha, Democratic Alliance spokesman on rural safety.

Botha, who attended the court sitting in Mwenezi in the Zimbabwean Lowveld,
said Von Abo appeared along with 14 other accused, nine of whom are South
African citizens.

Their cases were postponed until 15 November, permitting them to return to
their Zimbabwean farms in the Mwenezi area in the meantime, Botha said.

He slammed the South African government for showing no sign of assistance to
the South African accused.

"The South African government sent no official representative to witness or
assist with this morning's court proceedings.

"It has come to light that the South African High Commissioner in Zimbabwe
is currently surveying the extent to which South African citizens are
exposed to Zimbabwe's land redistribution programme.

"It is not clear to the DA why such a survey is being carried out, given
Deputy President Jacob Zuma's statement in Parliament last week that the
government cannot intervene in Zimbabwe," Botha said after the Mwenezi
hearing.

Von Abo was arrested on August 19 by armed Zimbabwean militia on his farm
Fauna in the Zimbabwean lowveld, along with farm manager Willem Klopper.
They were accused of contravening president Robert Mugabe's land reform
legislation by refusing to leave the farm.

Von Abo insisted that Fauna was earlier taken off the so-called Section 8
list, marking white Zimbabwean farmers for eviction.

He earlier said that he expected of the South African government to protect
his property rights in Zimbabwe. He saw this as part of his civil rights as
a South African citizen.

Von Abo, also a Zimbabwean resident, owned extensive agricultural properties
in the Zimbabwean lowveld and the Mazoe Valley to the north, and employed
more than 1000 Zimbabwean workers.

Practically all of this land, except Fauna, have been lost since the start
of Mugabe's land reform program.

He started farming in Zimbabwe 50 years ago.

In South Africa, he is a well-known grain farmer and a former chairman of
the now defunct Maize Board.

Sapa


Von Abo, also a Zimbabwean resident, owned extensive agricultural properties
in the Zimbabwean lowveld and the Mazoe Valley to the north, and employed
more than 1000 Zimbabwean workers.

Practically all of this land, except Fauna, have been lost since the start
of Mugabe's land reform program.

He started farming in Zimbabwe 50 years ago.

In South Africa, he is a well-known grain farmer and a former chairman of
the now defunct Maize Board.

Sapa
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IOL

'Mugabe's men took my sister'


      September 18 2002 at 07:45AM



By Tony Weaver

The Bowen family of Table View in Cape Town spent Tuesday night in a state
of anguish, not knowing the fate of their sister and her two children, aged
one and three, after Zimbabwean police arrested Sonnette Kotze, 29, on
Tuesday morning.

Sonnette's distraught sister, Zelda Bowen, 27 said they had been unable to
get through to Sonnette's husband, Japie, to find out about her fate.

Bowen could not ascertain whether the two children, Corne, 1, and Riaan, 3,
were being held with their mother.

Bowen said although the Kotze farm at Chipinge had been earmarked for
seizure, the family had made a deal to hand over a large portion of the
land, while being allowed to stay on the farm.

Her parents Hester and Hannes Rom, who are with her in Table View, farmed
south-west of Harare for 54 years, but their farm was seized in March, and
they moved to Cape Town.

Bowen related an incident three weeks ago when Sonnette and Japie went to a
game lodge near Chiredzi. "As they were leaving, she asked the guard at the
gate where she could get rid of Corne's disposable nappy. The guard told her
to give it to him and he would dispose of it."

On Tuesday morning, police arrived at the Kotzes farm and told Sonnette to
accompany them to the charge office.

She was charged with crimen injuria. The guard at the lodge alleged she had
told him to "take the nappy and eat the crap", said Bowen. "The situation is
so sensitive at the moment that she would never have said something like
that."

Attempts by the Cape Times to get through to Japie Kotze on Tuesday night
were unsuccessful.

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Business Report

Mugabe's next stop may be mines
 
Independent Foreign Service
September 18 2002 at 08:07AM
Harare - Zimbabwe's mines and leading industries are likely to be invaded
next, according to a leading Zimbabwean analyst.

Speaking at a meeting of the country's Mass Public Opinion Institute, Brian
Raftopoulos from the University of Zimbabwe's Institute of Development
Studies said that as the country's economy shrinks, war vets were likely to
look at other choice targets away from the thousands of farms they had
seized already.

"As the economy shrinks further and as the government discovers that the
land alone is not the economy, and the economy is not the land alone,
industry faces a very real danger of being invaded the same way farms have
been taken over," he said, adding that Zimbabwe's
economy could not grow.

"It can only contract further and that will likely push government to the
limit, into the invasion of factories and mines."

Last year chanting war veterans, led by a Harare municipal worker, Joseph
Chinoitomba, raided city businesses extorting millions from terrified
managers.

Chinoitomba's mob, often armed with crowbars, even invaded a private
hospital and a German non-governmental organisation's office in the
Zimbabwean capital, demanding millions of dollars on behalf of alleged
victims of unfair labour practices.

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions economist Godfrey Kanyenze said
Raftopoulos was right. "Industry is under threat from the current situation.
Companies have been forced to close either as a direct result of
intimidation or indirectly as a result of the economic pressures on
business."

When Zanu-PF made the statement about the land and the economy, it was
playing a political gimmick, romanticising the land issue.

In June this year, following Robert Mugabe's contested presidential victory
at the polls, the Zimbabwean president threatened to seize companies,
claiming many white-owned businesses were sabotaging the country's economy.

And despite backing down over last year's company invasions, Mugabe and his
hardline lieutenants have threatened to seize white-owned businesses on
several occasions since farm invasions began in February 2000. - Independent
Foreign Service

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Zimbabwean court sets aside eviction orders of seven farmers


      Xinhuanet 2002-09-19 03:16:23


     HARARE, Sept. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- The Zimbabwean High Court set
aside here on Wednesday eviction orders effected on seven white commercial
farmers to vacate their property in accordance with the Land Acquisition and
Amendment Act.

     The act gave the farmers 90-day notice to vacate their property to
pave way for the resettled farmers under the government's land
re-distribution program.

     Justice Ben Hlatshwayo accepted the contention by the farmers that
a farm that is mortgaged or bonded can not be acquired for resettlement if
the state has not properly informed the financial institution involved.

     State lawyer, Nelson Mutsonziwa of the Attorney General's office
conceded that the state did not follow the right procedure when it served
the farmers with preliminary notices.

   Justice Hlatshwayo ruled that the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture
and Rural Resettlement should have served the financial institutions
involved with the preliminary notices of intention to acquire the farms for
resettlement.

     The ruling by the judge means that the state will have to startthe
process of serving the parties if it is still interested in acquiring the
farms.

      The case by the farmers is among several cases in which farmers
have successfully challenged the eviction orders on technical grounds.

      The ruling also comes at a time when parliament is amending
theact.

     Under the proposed amendments of the bill, the period of noticeto
vacate land in the case of an order that is re-issued after 90 days shall be
seven days. Enditem

     

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Globe and Mail, Canada

Zimbabwe takes extra powers to evict farmers


      Reuters News Agency


      Harare - Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party pushed a bill through
parliament on Wednesday giving it power to evict within days white farmers
accused of using legal loopholes to hang on to land targeted for
redistribution to blacks.

      President Robert Mugabe's party used its comfortable majority in the
150-seat parliament to pass the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill, modifying a
10-year-old law.

      The amendments will allow the government to re-issue any eviction
notices previously rendered invalid by the High Court. Farmers who are
reissued with such an order after the expiry of the initial 90-day notice
will have seven days to vacate the land.

      The bill also raises the fine for resisting an eviction order to
Z$100,000 (about $2,800 Canadian) from Z$20,000.

      Mr. Mugabe ordered 2,900 commercial farmers to quit their land without
compensation by Aug. 8 under a controversial programme to seize white-owned
farms and hand them over to the largely landless black majority. But some
2,500 farmers have defied the initial orders, and police have charged more
than 300 of them, says the farmers' group Justice for Agriculture.

      Last month the High Court ruled in a judgment in favour of a white
farmer that his mortgaged farm could not be taken for resettlement because
the state had not properly informed the mortgage lender. Since that ruling,
the High Court has also cancelled about 60 other eviction orders for
different reasons.

      Zimbabwe has been in crisis since pro-government militants began
invading white-owned farms in early 2000. Mr. Mugabe, in power since the
former Rhodesia gained independence from Britain in 1980, says his land
drive is aimed at correcting colonial injustice, which left 70 per cent of
the country's best land in the hands of white farmers.

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JAG SITREP 18th September 2002

ERRATA
The Kockotts did not abandon their farm as reported yesterday. Andy and
Sharon Kockott managed to withdraw from their homestead yesterday with the
assistance of the Tengwe Farmers Association chairman and the local police
MIC, after being barricaded in since Thursday 12 September. The last 24
hours were spent without electricity and water, which had been cut off.
They withdrew leaving the homestead and all the farm buildings locked, and
everything on the farm intact.

_______________________________________________
Justice for Agriculture mailing list
To subscribe/unsubscribe: Please write to jag-list-admin@mango.zw

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Sydney Morning Herald

Mugabe moves to close white farmers' last legal loophole
September 19 2002


White farmers accused of using legal loopholes to stay on land targeted for
redistribution to blacks will be given seven days to leave under a bill
before the Zimbabwean parliament.

The Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, tabled the bill on Tuesday and
parliament was due to suspend its normal debating procedures yesterday to
consider the proposed changes.

The bill's proposed amendments to the land acquisition laws will allow the
Government to reissue any eviction notices previously rendered invalid by
the High Court.

The bill says farmers who are reissued with an eviction order after the
expiry of the initial 90-day notice will have only seven days to vacate the
land. It will also raise the fine for resisting an eviction order to
$Z100,000 ($3400) from $Z20,000.

President Robert Mugabe ordered 2900 commercial farmers to leave their land
without compensation by August 8 under a controversial program to seize
white-owned farms and hand them over to the largely landless black majority.


But about 2500 farmers have defied the initial orders, and police have
charged more than 300 of them, a farmers' group, Justice for Agriculture,
says.

Last month the High Court ruled in favour of a white farmer, finding that
his mortgaged farm could not be taken for resettlement because the state had
not properly informed the mortgage lender.

Since that ruling, the High Court has also cancelled about 60 other eviction
orders for different reasons.

Industry officials had said the mortgage ruling could pave the way for
similar court appeals by farmers, but the government notice said the
amendments would overcome this legal loophole.

Mr Mugabe says his land drive is aimed at correcting British colonial
injustice, which left 70 per cent of the country's best land in the hands of
white farmers after independence in 1980. The white farmers say they support
land reforms but are opposed to the Government's metho
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SADC police chiefs sign common code of conduct in Zimbabwe


      Xinhuanet 2002-09-18 14:45:34

      HARARE, Sept. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC) police chiefs have signed the common code of conduct in the
city of Victoria Falls, under which no police official shall inflict,
instigate, or tolerate any act or other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment to any person. ¡¡¡¡

     Speaking at a Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation
Organization (SARPCCO) conference in Victoria Falls Tuesday, head of the
SARPCCO secretariat Frank Msuthu said "We areall agreed that we want to see
suspects and criminals dealt with in almost the same manner throughout the
region."

      He added that the idea to come up with the document was in
linewith the region's vision to work together in the fight against crime.

      In signing the document, the SADC police chiefs recognized
thatethical standards, particularly human rights norms, were an important
tool in the professional of police forces everywhere andin SARPCCO member
countries.

      On human rights, the chiefs said that in the performance of their
duties, police officials should respect and protect human dignity and
maintain and uphold all human rights for all persons.

      "Police officials shall treat all persons fairly and equally and
avoid any form of discrimination," they said.

     The code allows police to use force but only when "strictly
necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duties
adhering to national legislation and practices."

      They are required to ensure protection of health of persons in
their custody and secure medical attention where needed.

      The SADC police chiefs agreed that police officials should respect
and uphold the rule of law and the new code of conduct andbehave in a
"trustworthy manner" to avoid any conduct that might compromise integrity.

    Police officials shall not commit or attempt to commit any actsof
corruption or abuse of power, according to the code.

     Individual police organizations from the 12-member grouping will
be required to enforce the code of conduct and punish defiantofficers.

      Police chiefs or their representatives who assented to the codeare
from Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique,Namibia, South
Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

      It was said that Angola and Mozambique had initially been
reluctant to sign the code, saying they were not happy with the translations
made on the document from English to Portuguese. Enditem


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IOL

Howard hints at firmer action over Zimbabwe

      September 17 2002 at 07:43PM



By Linsey Arkley and Basildon Peta

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who chairs the Commonwealth's troika
on Zimbabwe, has dismissed Zimbabwe as "totalitarian" and given a strong
indication that he supported expelling it from the organisation.

Zimbabwe's main civic groups have urged the troika, which meets in Nigeria
this weekend, to expel Zimbabwe as President Robert Mugabe's crackdown on
his opponents has not abated.

President Thabo Mbeki and Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo are also
part of the troika, which was mandated by the Commonwealth to act on
Zimbabwe after the group's observer mission declared that Zimbabwe's March
presidential election was not free and fair.

The troika has so far suspended Zimbabwe from the councils of the
Commonwealth, but it agreed to meet in Abuja this weekend to consider
further action against Zimbabwe.

Obasanjo was reported to have said he was confident President Robert Mugabe
would also attend the meeting so he could be quizzed.

But the civic groups said the troika might as well disband if it was not
prepared to act firmly against Mugabe's government.

Howard told a meeting of Australian MPs in Canberra that it was important
that the Commonwealth be consistent and expel Zimbabwe as it had done with
Pakistan and Fiji.

He said there had been no developments recently to suggest that Mugabe was
responsive to international pressure so far.
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Business Day

Zimbabwe's chaos 'threat to Africa plan'


One of South Africa's largest companies yesterday warned that the unchecked
political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe was undermining the continent's
international credibility.
In a rare public display of growing private sector impatience with regional
governments' failure to tackle the leadership in Harare, Paul Kruger,
chairman of the Sasol fuels group, said in his annual statement to
shareholders that the ''chaotic and embarrassing'' events in Zimbabwe posed
a major threat to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), a
plan to promote democracy and good governance.

"The despotic conduct of that country's leadership and the anarchy and abuse
of human rights appear to go on unabated, thereby tarnishing the image of
the entire continent," he said.

The sizeable assets held by South African companies in Zimbabwe have
suffered as a result of the country's economic decline. President Robert
Mugabe's suppression of political opposition and a controversial land reform
programme's flouting of the law have accelerated the collapse in investor
confidence.

Sasol's warning came a day after South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki
showcased Nepad at the UN General Assembly in New York. World leaders
welcomed the plan as an African-led development initiative. But Colin
Powell, US secretary of state, singled out Zimbabwe as a blot on the
continent's development record.

"Countries that fail to live up to Nepad's commitment will suffer. Zimbabwe'
s economic decline is a warning about the dangers of ignoring the linkage
between good policies and human development,'' Mr Powell said.

South African companies are likely to be some of the main beneficiaries of
Nepad, and have thrown their support behind a plan that relies heavily on
private sector investment. Companies like Sasol, SABMiller, the brewing
group, miner Anglo American and telecommunications group MTN, have
widespread African investments.

Sasol also vented a frustration shared by many South African business
leaders that the South African government has not done more to safeguard
Zimbabwe's investment potential. Sasol used to supply Zimbabwe with fuel,
but Harare has turned to Libya to meet its oil needs in a barter for
agricultural products.

"The so-called quiet diplomacy pursued by the South African government has
had no material effect on the appalling occurrences in Zimbabwe," Mr Kruger
said.

The Zimbabwean economy is forecast to shrink by 11 per cent this year, while
more than 6m Zimbabweans face severe food shortages. Zimbabwe was South
Africa's largest trading partner, but over the past two years it has slipped
to third place behind Mozambique.

Financial Times
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Daily News

      Land Bill to be fast-tracked

      9/18/02 9:03:07 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporter

      THE Land Acquisition Amendment Bill, which seeks to increase fines for
commercial farmers who resist eviction and to validate preliminary
acquisition orders, is set to be brought before Parliament today.



      Patrick Chinamasa, the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs, yesterday said he would suspend the Standing Orders and Rules for
the Bill to be fast-tracked through the House. The Bill was yesterday
referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee. The proposed amendments to
the Land Acquisition Act come in the wake of delays in the government's
chaotic land reform programme, after a number of commercial farmers
successfully challenged parts of the law in the High Court. The Bill is
expected to amend sections of the Act and relieve the acquiring authority of
the need to prove that rural land is suitable for resettlement, as well as
increase the fine for non-compliance with Section 8 eviction orders from $20
000 to $100 000.

      The period of notice to vacate the land in the case of an order that
is re-issued after 90 days from the date of issue of the invalid order shall
be seven days from the date of service of the re-issued order. Meanwhile,
Parliament received non-adverse reports on the Patents Amendment Bill, the
Masvingo State University Bill, the Value Added Tax Bill, and all statutory
instruments published in the Government Gazette in July.
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Daily News

      MDC says Mugabe's invitation to Abuja fundamentally wrong

      9/18/02 9:11:44 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporter

      THE MDC has questioned the wisdom of the invitation extended to
President Mugabe by the Commonwealth troika to the Abuja meeting which is
scheduled for early next week.



      The invitation by President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, President
Olesugun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Australian Prime Minister John Howard, has
been described by the MDC as fundamentally wrong because it is unlikely to
contribute to the resolution of the crisis in the country. Professor
Welshman Ncube, the MDC secretary-general said: "While we have no doubt that
the meeting has been necessitated by the Commonwealth's desire to find a
permanent and lasting solution to the Zimbabwean crisis, the invitation of
Mugabe to the meeting to hear endless Zanu PF lies on the situation in
Zimbabwe without extending the same invitation to the opposition and civil
society is extremely worrying." Ncube said the crisis in Zimbabwe could not
be resolved without the engagement of all parties or at least hearing them
out.

      "We trust that the Commonwealth troika has not been hoodwinked by
Mugabe's machinations which were on display at both the World Summit on
Sustainable Development held in South Africa and the 57th Session the United
Nations General Assembly held in New York last week," Ncube said. He said
there was need for the troika to instead invite the opposition and civil
society to the Abuja meeting.

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Daily News

      Government evicts resettled villagers to pave way for Shiri

      9/18/02 9:10:14 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporter

      TRADITIONAL leaders from Svosve communal lands in Marondera who have
have been living at Eirene Farm for the past three years have accused the
government of forcibly relocating them from the farm to pave way for Air
Marshal Perence Shiri, the Commander of the Airforce of Zimbabwe.



      Denias Machingura, a village head from Chief Svosve's area who had
settled with about 42 families at the farm, said he feared their removal
would adversely affect their agricultural operations for the 2002/2003
season. "We had grown about 42 hectares of wheat as a village at Eirene
Farm," he said. "The unexpected relocation of people will mean that we will
abandon our tobacco crop. We have been relocated to Mapuranga Farm which was
a cattle ranch." Yesterday, the settlers were busy building some
pole-and-mud and huts at Mapuranga Farm. Their property was heaped in the
open, covered with plastic and grass.

      Tempers nearly flared as they narrated their plight to The Daily News.
Machingura said they thought the government would give them time to start
their new farming season peacefully but that was not the case. Machingura
said: "Who will compensate us for the brick houses we built at Eirene Farm?
Is it Shiri? Or is it the government? Nothing has been explained to us
except force from the government officials." "We have been threatened for
telling the truth here by people who think they own us. "They have forced
themselves on our lives saying we should accommodate senior army, Central
Intelligence Organisation and police officers for our security. They are
busy enriching themselves."

      Machingura said their forced relocation to Mapuranga Farm by
Christopher Chingosho, the provincial administrator (PA) for Mashonaland
East, was an insult to the Svosve people who spearheaded land invasions in
1999 before war veterans and Zanu PF supporters led the illegal occupation
of farms in 2000.

      He said Mapuranga Farm was owned by a farmer only identified as
Vrystaat and was specifically for cattle ranching. The soils, Machingura
said, were unsuitable for crop production. Machingura said the government
had reduced them to "animals by moving us to places where there is no
drinking water and shelter". Other traditional leaders among them Edward
Jera, Musekiwa Chakanongwa, Musimbe Bhebhe, and Abel and Wilfred Marimo,
said they were called to the PA's office in Marondera about two weeks ago
where Chingosho told them that they had to be relocated because Eirene Farm
now belonged to Shiri. The leaders said the volatile meeting was attended by
Shiri, Constantine Chiwenga, the Commander of the Zimbabwe National Army,
Chief Enock Svosve and other government officials including Chingosho, who
addressed them.

      Meanwhile, settlers at the nearby Bonchana, Yutkik and Mushangwe farms
yesterday were bitter with the government's latest move to relocate them,
saying it would backfire due to the deepening rift between them and the army
top brass. Settlers at Mushangwe Farm said they had been warned to prepare
for relocation because Chiwenga was now the new owner. The traditional
leaders said the government misled villagers by pegging the farm under the
A1 resettlement model when it knew that the farms would be allocated to
senior government officials who wanted the farmhouses and the farm
equipment. Yesterday the settlers, who invaded the farm at the height of the
illegal farm invasions in 2000, accused the government of using them
following its controversial victory in the March presidential election. The
village heads said the government only wanted the masses to forcibly evict
white commercial farmers so that it could allocate prime land to senior
army, police and government officials.
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Daily News


      MDC activists arrested for campaigning in Guruve

      9/18/02 9:17:23 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporter

      ABOUT 23 MDC activists in Guruve South, including two aspiring
councillors, were last week on Thursday arrested by the police for
reportedly campaigning for their candidates in the forthcoming rural
district council elections scheduled for 28-29 September.



      Henry Chimbiri, the provincial spokesman for the MDC in Mashonaland
Central, said the 23 party activists were arrested in Guruve following
attacks by Zanu PF youths in the area. He said among those arrested was
Muhamba Munyambara and Jaison Karikoga, the candidates for Wards 9 and 10
respectively. Some of the arrested are Vengai Kanyoka, Samuel Munyambare,
Spider Chitumba, Makomborero Kazai, Tapiwa Kabengere, Ranganayi Murimo,
Lixon Mwanza, Tapfumanei Muzhona, Godfrey Mwazenge, Anyway Freddie and
several others. Chimbiri said the arrested activists were taken to Bindura
Police Station where they were reportedly still being held by Thursday
afternoon.

      A police spokesman who identified himself as Inspector Nyakurimwa at
the Bindura Police Station, denied any knowledge of the arrested MDC
supporters. Nyakurimwa said: "I do not have any information related to that
incident. "The MDC spokesman insisted their members were arrested under
unclear circumstances. "Guruve South has become a dangerous place to live
in," Chimbiri said. "So-called war veterans and Zanu PF youths have launched
a campaign to flush out MDC supporters and nominees before elections." He
said due to violence and unorthodox campaign practices by the ruling party
when the nomination court sat, only eight out of a possible 15 MDC
candidateswere nominated to contest the lection. He said: "We fear for their
lives but we are not stopping our campaigns.

      The police are getting instructions from the so-called war veterans
and Zanu PF youths to arrest our members who are brave enough to stand in
the elections." Tapera Macheka, the MDC provincial chairman in Mashonaland
Central, said their members were being ill-treated at the Bindura police
holding cells where they have been denied food since their arrest. "Our
lawyer is now handling the matter. We hope they will be released very soon,"
said Macheka.
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Daily News

Leader Page

      Election appeals must be treated with urgency

      9/18/02 8:46:26 AM (GMT +2)



      The reluctance of the Judiciary to treat political disputes and
challenges as urgent matters has let the people down.

      After the 2000 parliamentary election, results in 37 constituencies
were challenged by the opposition, citing widespread irregularities.

      The courts refused to treat the matters as urgent, resulting in a long
wait and a protracted process that hastened polarisation in our society and
delayed the reconciliation and healing of fractured communities.

      Some petitioners withdrew their challenges when they realised vital
clues, evidence and even witnesses were no longer available because of the
delays. The few cases which were heard by the High Court are still pending
following counter-challenges to the Supreme Court by the losers.

      Such delays have a shattering effect on communities and individuals,
given the volatile political climate in the rural areas.

      After the flawed presidential election, two initiatives emerged as a
way for the nation to move forward. South Africa and Nigeria's effort to
mediate was scuttled by Zanu PF which showed no interest in a lasting
solution to the impasse.

      Zanu PF tried to push the MDC to stall a possible legal challenge and
confer legitimacy to the flawed election result.

      The MDC was keen to prove that Zanu PF had stolen the election and
must accept an internationally supervised rerun.

      On realising the futility of talks, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai filed
papers a day before the deadline with the High Court. President Mugabe duly
responded and the matter is still to be heard - five months after the event.

      Since then, Zimbabwe continues to bleed.

      The government behaves as if we are still in the middle of an election
campaign.
      The battle lines have never been more sharply drawn, with thousands
denied food and government services on the suspicion that they sympathise
with the opposition.

      Those being punished have flatly refused to be crushed, maintaining
their resistance to accept Mugabe as their leader.

      That has made it impossible for Mugabe to consolidate his
controversial victory.
      The failure of the foreign-mediated attempts to make the government
see the need for a speedy return to a normal society, exacerbated by
persistent delays and the seemingly casual attitude within the Judiciary,
are a major blow to the people's aspirations.

      Our courts must move quickly to resolve the differences because of the
effect of the polarisation on ordinary people's lives.

      Take the case of Buhera North MP Kenneth Manyonda.

      The High Court ruled that he was not duly elected.

      He appealed against the ruling, which is his right. The court, as in
other cases, is in no hurry to hear the appeal.

      But, in the meantime, Mugabe appoints Manyonda as a deputy minister.
That puts the people of Buhera North in a quandary. Manyonda's supporters
feel that his loss of the case was of no consequence.

      Those who voted against him and look forward to a new Supreme Court
result of the appeal feel slighted. Mugabe's actions perpetuate divisions in
rural communities and make healing and reconciliation impossible.

      Where are we going as a nation in crisis?

      The MDC could have banked on the threat of mass action in the urban
areas. But that plan has since fallen apart, according to the results of the
latest Mass Public Opinion Institute survey.

      Mugabe is certainly on the run as evidenced by the increase in
repressive measures his government has put in place, a vicious information
war which seems to be driving more people away from Zanu PF, and an
international squeeze, forcing him to plead for legitimacy whenever he gets
a chance to address a gathering outside Zimbabwe.

      The MDC says it is neither in retreat nor in a state of paralysis. It
claims the real struggle has just begun, but does not state how.

      Meanwhile, the stand-off remains and the people suffer.
      The Judiciary has let people down.

      The hearings must be speeded up to let the majority know of their fate
or assist them in starting a new way of life.
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MSNBC
 
Zimbabwe's Mugabe due in Nigeria for crisis talks



ABUJA, Sept. 18 — Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe will hold talks in Nigeria next week with a three-nation Commonwealth group charged with monitoring the crisis in his country, a Nigerian official said on Wednesday. 
       British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was also expected at the three-day talks in Abuja from Monday involving the Commonwealth troika of Australia, Nigeria and South Africa, Junior foreign minister Dubem Onyia told Reuters.
       The troika comprises South African President Thabo Mbeki, Nigerian head of state Olusegun Obasanjo and Australian Prime Minister John Howard. It was not clear whether Mugabe and Straw would join the Commonwealth group's discussions together.
       Zimbabwe's crisis deepened earlier this year when Mugabe ordered 2,900 commercial farmers to quit their land without compensation under a controversial scheme to seize white-owned farms and hand them over to the largely landless black majority.
       An estimated six million people, nearly half the population, are short of food because of disruption to farms and drought.
       The troika, set up at a Commonwealth summit in Australia earlier this year, decided in March to suspend Zimbabwe from the councils of the Commonwealth for 12 months. Howard announced details on Saturday of next week's Abuja meeting.
       ''Zimbabwe has been quite indifferent to the requests properly made of her by the Commonwealth and we want to talk about what might further be done in relation to that,'' Howard said.
       Onyia said the meeting aimed to ''come up with a peaceful resolution without any side losing in the matter.''
       Mugabe's government agreed at talks in Abuja a year ago to stop forceful farm seizures in return for support from former colonial ruler Britain to win international assistance to fund orderly land reform in the southern African nation.
       Both Britain and Zimbabwe have since accused each other of not playing their part after the Abuja agreement.
       Mugabe has hardened his policy on the land issue since the Commonwealth suspended Zimbabwe following his controversial re-election in bitterly disputed presidential polls.
       Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party pushed a bill through parliament on Wednesday giving it power to evict within days white farmers accused of using legal loopholes to hang on to land targeted for redistribution to blacks.
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Letter to the Times

Zimbabwe pensions
From Mrs Elaine Kriedemann



Sir, It is not only black people and white farmers who are suffering through Mugabe’s madness.
Thousands of pensioners scattered throughout South Africa and the rest of the world, who have faithfully served Zimbabwe and contributed to pension funds for many years, have not been paid since December.
The Zimbabwean banks say that they have insufficient foreign currency to remit our pensions.
Our pensions were guaranteed by the Lancaster House agreement (Hansard, March 5, 2002, col 208W) but we now face a bleak future.
Yours faithfully,
ELAINE KRIEDEMANN,
PO Box 675,
Howick 3290, South Africa.
September 17.
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http://www.theage.com.au/letters/index.html

Next, Zimbabwe?

Intense diplomatic pressure from world and regional leaders forced Saddam
to back down, thus significantly reducing the likelihood of the deaths of
hundreds of thousands of civilians in Iraq.
Will similar pressure now be applied to Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, whose
genocidal policies imperil the lives of even greater numbers of innocents
in his own, and neighbouring countries?
I doubt it. Zimbabwe has no oil, and its long-suffering masses no voice on
Capitol Hill.
Nick Russell, Warranwood

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LETTERS

Letters to the Editor
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

-----------------------------------------------------------

Zimbabwe chart-topper: 'Old Macdonald had a farm, that
Mugabe stole'

I am curious to know whether the article "Mrs. Mugabe joins
Zimbabwe land grab" (Page One, Thursday) made the Zimbabwean
ambassador to Washington, Simbi Mubako, feel uncomfortable.
He also recently became the proud new owner of a farm - a
1,200-hectare (2,964-acre) spread in Mashonaland West
province called Remainder of Between the Rivers. It formerly
belonged to 50-year-old Adrian Wilkinson. The farm once
produced wheat, seed maize, soybeans and tobacco and
employed 140 men and women. Mr. Wilkinson and his wife were
barricaded into their home and severely intimidated by
ruling-party militants. They were then forced to leave after
Mr. Mubako's brother informed them that their farm was no
longer theirs.



ANNABEL HUGHES

Executive director

Zimbabwe Democracy Trust

London



.



The Washington Times is to be commended for exposing the
atrocities taking place in Zimbabwe at the hands of the
Mugabe regime. Just this week, the U.S. Department of State,
to its credit, reminded the world that the elections in
Zimbabwe were fraudulent and that the United States does not
recognize Robert Mugabe as the legitimate leader of this
much-suffering country. The large-scale theft of productive
Zimbabwean farms by high-ranking government officials; Mr.
Mugabe's political cronies; and his wife, Grace, represents
not only a blatant disregard for the rule of law, but also
an astonishingly destructive policy in a country careering
toward famine.

Until this year, Zimbabwe was a food exporter. Now the
United States is shipping corn to it on "humanitarian
grounds." This food aid surely will prop up Mr. Mugabe and,
worse, will be used to reward his followers and punish the
starving opposition. One wonders how happy U.S. taxpayers
would be if they realized that they are being called upon to
bail out this despotic regime from its own disastrous
actions.



EWEN M. WILSON

Falls Church

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