International Herald Tribune
The Associated PressPublished: April 2,
2007
HARARE, Zimbabwe: Zimbabweans braced Monday for a two-day
national protest
strike in the wake of a police crackdown on government
opponents, while
police said they were sending reinforcements into the
streets.
Business leaders said, however, that the call to strike appeared
to have
stirred little open emotion, as a wary calm descended in the
capital,
Harare. Scores of businesses have shut down, and some main
factories were
operating at reduced capacity.
Police reinforcements
were being deployed during the strike Tuesday and
Wednesday, spokesman Wayne
Bvudzijena said. Police also on Monday reported a
10th gasoline bombing in
the past month, and blamed it on opposition
activists.
The main
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions called the strike to protest the
country's
economic crisis, accusing the government of corruption and
mismanagement
that fueled official inflation of nearly 1,700 percent - the
highest rate in
the world - as well as 80 percent unemployment and acute
shortages of food,
hard currency and gasoline.
The were no immediate reports of labor
officials canvassing for support
that, before past strikes, had stoked
tensions and led to police searches,
scuffles and arrests.
Labor
unions urged strikers to stay home, and planned no street
demonstrations,
for fear of inciting police action.
Bvudzijena said the planned strike had
been declared illegal, and that
police were manning an increased number of
road blocks and were being
"strategically deployed" at bus stations, outside
businesses and factories
and at commuter transport ranks in townships to
stop intimidation of workers
by labor activists, state radio reported
Monday.
He said police would protect people going to work and "going
about their
legal business."
Executives at one Harare engineering
plant said its workers planned to
ignore the strike because the lunch
provided in the canteen was the only
daily meal they could rely on. Other
workers feared that participating in
the strike would lead to their pay
being withheld.
Labor Minister Nicholas Goche, in a statement Monday,
accused the labor
federation of "playing political games" in support of an
opposition-led
defiance and civil disobedience campaign as well as a string
of alleged
petrol bombing across the country.
"Individuals in the
ZCTU ... want labor to be seen participating in the
current western backed
violence aimed regime change in Zimbabwe," he said.
"Employers are free
to deal with workers who choose to deliberately stay
away from work," the
statement said, seen as effectively overriding labor
laws preventing the
arbitrary firing of employees.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and
top colleagues in the Movement for
Democratic Change were hospitalized after
being beaten by police while in
custody last month after police violently
stopped a Harare prayer meeting
that had been declared an illegal political
protest.
President Robert Mugabe has admitted that Tsvangirai and least
40 opposition
activists were beaten in custody, and warned protesters they
would be
"bashed" again if violence continued - a reference to government
accusations
that the opposition is to blame for a wave of unrest and petrol
bomb
attacks, allegations the opposition has repeatedly
denied.
Fifteen opposition activists, nine of them ordered by a court to
receive
medical attention during the weekend for injuries allegedly
inflicted by
police, are scheduled to reappear in court Tuesday on
violence-related
charges, their lawyers said.
U.N. Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon said the U.N. was "very much concerned
about the situation" in
Zimbabwe.
"It is necessary for the leaders of the Zimbabwean government
to strictly
abide by all democratic rules, to firmly establish democratic
rules again,"
Ban told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.
Zim Online
Tuesday 03 April 2007
By Regerai
Marwezu
MASVINGO - The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is bankrolling a
government
crackdown on the opposition, paying billions of dollars in
allowances and
bonuses to police crack squads that have crushed
anti-government protests
and assaulted opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai
and his followers.
Sources in the police and at the RBZ said part of the
money provided last
month by the central bank for use by the police and
which they said ran into
several billions of dollars would be used to
retrain the police's anti-riot
squads in anticipation of possible
opposition-led anti-President Robert
Mugabe mass protests.
"Officers
were paid a gratuity of one million dollars each from the money
provided by
the RBZ after we successfully stopped the MDC (opposition
Movement for
Democratic Change party) rally at Zimbabwe Grounds in
February," said a
senior police officer, who declined to be named fearing
possible reprisals
from his superiors.
Dozens of MDC supporters were last February injured
and property worth
millions of dollars destroyed when heavily armed police
descended on
supporters of the opposition party beating them up and forcing
them to
disperse from Zimbabwe Grounds in Harare's Highfield suburb where
they had
gathered for a meeting.
The police stopped the MDC even
though the High Court had issued an order
permitting the opposition party to
hold the meeting. Days after breaking the
rally, the police imposed a ban on
political meetings and protests in Harare
and its dormitory Chitungwiza
city.
According to our source, police officers on duty in Harare to
enforce the
ban on political activity by the opposition are paid a daily
allowance of
Z$100 000, a hefty sum given the average salary of a police
constable of
about $380 000 per month.
RBZ governor Gideon Gono on
Monday confirmed releasing "some funds" to the
Ministry of Home Affairs
under which the police falls. But the central bank
chief professed ignorance
as to how the money was used, referring all
questions to Home Affairs
Minister Kembo Mohadi.
"We released some funds to the Ministry of Home
Affairs last month (March)
part of which was used by the Registrar General's
office. Some of the money
was used for other purposes details of which you
can get from the
responsible ministry," Gono told ZimOnline.
Mohadi
refused to take questions on the matter saying he did not discuss
security
issues with the Press. "I cannot comment on such issues even if
they are
true," he said before switching off his phone.
The government, battling
to keep public discontent in check in the face of
worsening economic
hardships, has over the past weeks intensified pressure
on the MDC and the
opposition party's civic society allies.
Police hit squads have over the
past few days abducted MDC and civic society
activists in the dead of the
night and beaten them in many cases to within
an inch of their
lives.
Nine MDC activists arrived at a Harare court last Saturday with
severe
injuries after four days in police custody. The magistrate had to
adjourn
proceedings to allow the opposition activists to be taken to
hospital for
treatment after two of them collapsed in court.
The
police allege the MDC activists are behind a spate of petrol bomb
attacks
against police stations and a train in Harare and other cities.
The MDC
denies it is behind the firebombing incidents, which it says were
orchestrated by government agents in a bid to find an excuse to clamp down
on the opposition party.
Mugabe has publicly defended the police for
assaulting his opponents and
boasted that a Southern African Development
Community summit last week had
backed his government's controversial
treatment of the opposition.
The regional summit, which many had hoped
would push Mugabe harder to stop
persecuting opponents and that he quits
power when his term expires next
year, appeared to let the Zimbabwean leader
off the hook when it failed to
publicly condemn repression by the Harare
government.
SADC leaders instead appealed for the lifting of Western
sanctions against
Mugabe and his top officials and also said they had
appointed South Africa's
President Thabo Mbeki to mediate between the Harare
administration and the
MDC. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tuesday 03 April 2007
Own
Correspondent
HARARE - State-owned Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority
(ZESA) on Monday
hiked power tariffs by 520 percent in yet another example
of worsening
living conditions as the southern African nation grapples its
worst ever
economic crisis.
Hard-pressed Zimbabweans, who at times
have to endure daily changes in
prices of basic goods, will pay 350 percent
more for electricity from the
beginning of this month. Tariffs will go up by
120 percent from the 1st of
June and 50 percent from the 1st of October to
bring the compound increase
to 520 percent.
Zimbabwe Electricity
Regulatory Authority Commissioner General Mavis
Chidzonga said the tariff
hike was because of "soaring generation,
transmission and distribution
costs".
"The commission also considered the cost of importing an average
35 percent
of Zimbabwe 's electricity requirements from regional utilities.
Importing
electricity is inevitable as local generation capacity is
insufficient to
cover the national maximum demand of around 2100MW during
winter," said
Chidzonga.
The business sector welcomed the tariff hike
expressing hope that by
charging cost-reflective tariffs ZESA would be able
to operate profitably
and ensure more reliable supplies to
consumers.
"Industry is prepared to pay cost reflective tariffs if that
will help solve
the power outages we are facing," said Confederation of
Zimbabwe Industries
president Calisto Jokonya.
But the tariff hike is
sure to trigger price increases across the board,
pushing inflation which
at 1 730 percent is the highest in the world, to
even greater heights and
making it more difficult for the majority of
Zimbabweans to feed their
families.
Zimbabwe's economic crisis has also seen the country facing
shortages of
food, fuel, essential medicines, hard cash and just about every
basic
survival commodity.
Western governments and the main opposition
Movement for Democratic Change
party blame the crisis on repression and
wrong policies by President Robert
Mugabe such as his seizure of productive
white-owned farms for
redistribution to landless blacks.
Mugabe
denies ruining Zimbabwe's economy and instead claims his country's
problems
are because of sabotage by Western governments out to punish Harare
for
seizing land from whites. - ZimOnline
VOA
By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
02 April
2007
A new wave of strikes has continued to widen across
Zimbabwe, threatening a
repeat of the labor crisis which faced the
government of President Robert
Mugabe earlier this year at a point in the
economic crisis when it can ill
afford to raise wages further.
A
strike by university lecturers has spread to all 13 of the country's state
universities, though talks were in progress between university councils and
representatives of the lecturers, said State University Union of Academics
President Benjamin Njekeya.
At the primary and secondary school
level, the Progressive Teachers Union
said it has started to lobby the
government for another salary review this
month as the gains the teachers
secured in February were quickly devoured by
hyperinflation. Inflation in
Zimbabwe was last measured at a cumulative
annual rate of
1,730%.
Teachers earn an average monthly salary of Z$518,000, but the
Consumer
Council of Zimbabwe says a family of six needs some Z$700,000 to
meet
essential needs.
Doctors and nurses in the public hospital
system are also walking off the
job again.
Doctors and nurses who
were promised a 300%-500% salary increase early this
year have recently seen
their salaries inexplicably reduced by half or more.
Economist Anthony
Hawkins, a professor at the University of Zimbabwe
Graduate School of
Management, told reporter Carole Gombakomba of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
that the government is falling behind the inflationary
wave.
International Herald Tribune
The Associated PressPublished: April 2,
2007
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: A wave of state orchestrated
violence continues
unabated in Zimbabwe, despite an admission by President
Robert Mugabe to
southern African counterparts that his security forces were
overreacting,
the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe said Monday.
U.S.
Ambassador Christopher Dell said that presidents from southern African
countries meeting last week behind closed doors in Tar Es Salaam, Tanzania,
told Mugabe his police had been excessive in beating and torturing
government opponents.
The summit called Thursday by the Southern
African Development Community
appointed South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki
to mediate a solution to
Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis, Dell said
in a telephone interview
from Zimbabwe's capital, Harare,
However,
Dell said he was "skeptical about the prospects of this initiative
leading
to anything like a positive outcome," considering the past
performance of
Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy" with Zimbabwe.
Citing sources at the meeting,
Dell said the presidents had been hard on
Mugabe. "He was criticized in
particular for the police using violence
inside the police stations," Dell
said, referring to the March 11 beatings
and torture of opposition Movement
for Democratic Reform activists,
including opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai.
But the presidents' failure to make their criticism
public showed the limit
of the South African Development Community's ability
to play a constructive
goal.
"None of this means anything if in public
they are going to say nothing and
thereby let him control the story," Dell
said. "So he came out of the
meeting and claimed total victory and nobody
dared to contradict him."
Dell said that, based on information from his
sources at the meeting, Mugabe
acknowledged that his security forces had
overreacted, especially in beating
Tsvangirai.
The U.S. ambassador
also said that, "as far as we are aware, the wave of
state orchestrated
violence - including abductions, beatings, torture and
the unconfirmed but
possible killings of MDC activists - continues
unabated."
Nine people
arrested last week in police raids on opposition headquarters
and activists'
homes were hospitalized after being beaten while in custody
over the
weekend, Dell said, noting the alleged abuses took place after the
meeting
of presidents in Tanzania.
"The state has clearly unleashed its thugs and
sort of given them license to
follow their worst instincts," Dell
said.
Civilians' resolve to resist the oppression, meanwhile, is
constantly
growing, Dell said, noting a pastoral letter by the Catholic
Bishops
Conference that was read at churches throughout the country
Sunday.
The bishops said in the letter that, soon after Zimbabwe gained
independence
from Britain in 2000, the wealth and power of an elite group of
whites was
appropriated by equally exclusive blacks, some of whom have since
governed
the country through political patronage.
"Black Zimbabweans
today fight for the same basic rights they fought for
during the liberation
struggle," when Zimbabwe was called Rhodesia, the
bishops wrote.
The
bishops said people "feel they have nothing more to lose because their
constitutional rights have been abrogate and their votes
rigged.
"Many people in Zimbabwe are angry, and their anger is now
erupting into
open revolt in one township after another," the bishops
wrote.
Dell said Mugabe had managed last week to ram through his
nomination as
ruling ZANU-PF party candidate in next year's elections, with
little
debate - proving "he had the ability to sort of manipulate the party
at
will."
Given the result - that Mugabe will likely run in a March
2008 election -
everyone, particularly the opposition, should start now
focusing on the
campaign.
The opposition needs to step into the race,
Dell said, noting Tsvangirai's
vow to boycott the election if no reforms
were instituted to guarantee a
free and fair vote. "This is the third go
around of this in the three years
I have been here. Every time there is an
election, the MDC does this 'to run
or not to run act.'"
As a result,
when they do decide to contest an election, they are not
prepared, Dell
said.
In the interview with AP, Dell also denied the U.S. government had
given any
weapons to the opposition, and also denied claims by the
Zimbabwean
government that the U.S. was encouraging opposition activists to
incite
violence.
"Of course it is absurd. It is patent nonsense,"
Dell said, expressing
skepticism that the government had found any weapons
in its raids.
"The government has access to an arsenal," Dell said,
suggesting it could
have planted weapons if it wanted to do so. "The
government's whole game
from start to finish is to blame the victims" and
condone police actions as
a reaction to government violence
Dell said
he himself continued to be threatened by the government for
speaking out
about conditions in Zimbabwe. "They say they'll consider it
unwarranted
interference, and they will throw me out."
Mail and Guardian
Harare, Zimbabwe
02 April 2007
06:40
Zimbabwean police have asked a special police branch to
maintain
order during Tuesday's two-day general strike called by the
country's main
labour body, a spokesperson said.
"The
National Reaction Force, which has been activated, will be
deployed in all
problem areas to ensure that there is law and order during
this illegal
stayaway," police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena said in a
statement.
The special task force deals with "emergency
situations" and
includes a military component as well as
police.
Bvudzijena said the Zimbabwe Republic Police would
ensure there
was peace, safety and security during the
strike.
"The organisation is therefore determined to ensure
that peace
prevails during the so-called mass stayaway called by the
Zimbabwe Congress
of Trade Unions [ZCTU] tomorrow
[Tuesday]."
He said commuters, business and industry would be
protected
through strategic deployments at bus-boarding points, shopping
centres and
industrial areas.
There would also be
increased roadblocks. He urged people to
cooperate with officers on patrol
or manning the roadblocks.
On Friday the ZCTU said the
decision to embark on a general
shutdown on Tuesday and Wednesday was taken
after the government's failure
to respond to concerns about the worsening
economic crisis in a country
where 80% of people are jobless and inflation
stands at 1 730%.
Labour officials said government must take
steps to address the
economic meltdown, adding that authorities had failed
to resolve workers'
demands for a minimum wage. -- Sapa-AFP
Reuters
Mon 2 Apr
2007, 16:02 GMT
HARARE, April 2 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's police accused the
country's main
labour movement on Monday of stoking violence with a planned
national job
boycott and warned they would fully deploy their forces in
preparation for
the protest.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
(ZCTU) says a majority of its union
affiliates have signed up for a two-day
"national stay-away" beginning on
Tuesday to pressure President Robert
Mugabe's government to meet its demands
for better wages and conditions amid
an economic crisis there.
The unions opted for the job protest instead of
street marches due to fears
of violent reprisals from security forces, ZCTU
officials said.
But Zimbabwean police, who the opposition says beat
dozens of their
activists after arresting them following an aborted
anti-Mugabe rally in
Harare last month, said the union was using its
influence for violent means.
"Judging from previous demonstrations by the
ZCTU we believe the call by the
organisation to stay away is an avenue ...
to foment acts of violence on
innocent citizens in the guise of job
actions," police spokesman Wayne
Bvudzijena said in a statement.
"The
National Reaction Force, which has since been activated, will be
deployed in
all problem areas to ensure that there is law and order during
this illegal
ZCTU stayaway."
He said anyone seen coercing others to boycott would be
arrested, although
he added it was not a crime to stay home from
work.
The ZCTU wants a monthly minimum wage of 1 million Zimbabwe dollars
(about
$4,000 at official rates but worth $50 on the black market) for
workers, as
well as steps by the government to address an economic meltdown
in the
southern African country.
Zimbabwe is struggling with
inflation of more than 1,700 percent -- the
highest in the world outside a
war zone -- soaring unemployment and chronic
shortages of food, fuel and
foreign currency.
Critics accuse Mugabe and his government of widespread
economic
mismanagement. The 83-year-old ruler says the problems are the
result of
sabotage by Western nations, primarily Britain, who are upset over
his
seizures of white-owned farms.
The ZCTU also wants the government
to increase access to anti-retroviral HIV
drugs. Zimbabwe has one of the
worst HIV epidemics in the southern Africa
region.
The ZCTU's calls
for strikes over labour and social issues in recent years
have largely
failed due to government intimidation and workers' fears of
losing their
jobs in a country with 80-percent unemployment, analysts said.
presstv, Iran
Mon, 02 Apr
2007 21:38:49 A UN human rights expert has warned that police
officers and
soldiers who shoot demonstrators in Zimbabwe could face
prosecutions for
crimes against humanity.
"The Zimbabwean government must immediately halt
its use of lethal force
against unarmed political activists," said UN
Special Reporter Philip Alston
on Monday.
This follows the killing of
11 people who were either shot or beaten to
death in protests held last
month.
Alston called for a full investigation into the matter and said
police and
military men had no right to kill except in self-defense or in
defense of
another person's life.
"Under international law,
widespread or systematic attacks against the
civilian population are crimes
against humanity," he said.
"Members of the police and military who
comply with orders to gun down
demonstrators will eventually be held to
account," he added.
Thousands of workers in Zimbabwe are to attend a
general strike especially
to oppose the melting economy in the country under
Mugabe's government.
Times Online
April 2, 2007
Jonathan Clayton, Johannesburg
Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's
embattled opposition leader, today signalled
an apparent change of tactics
in his ongoing confrontation with President
Robert Mugabe and his brutal
Zanu-PF regime.
Mr Tsvangirai, who arrived unexpectedly in Johannesburg
for medical
treatment, struck a notably much more conciliatory tone than in
recent
declarations and called on South African President Thabo Mbeki to act
quickly to defuse the crisis across the border.
"It is critical that
President Mbeki act quickly and decisively to halt the
suffering of millions
of Zimbabweans. There is no time to waste," Mr
Tsvangirai told a hastily
convened press conference.
Mr Tsvangirai, who apparently had no
difficulty leaving Zimbabwe and planned
to return after medical check-ups,
appeared to be at pains to prevent a
general strike in Zimbabwe from further
increasing political tensions. He
indicated he would be willing to take part
in talks even while Mr Mugabe was
still officially the Zanu-PF candidate for
Presidential elections next
year - a key reversal of previous
policy.
President Mbeki, frequently criticised for failing to talk tough
to his
neighbour, was last week appointed by fellow leaders in the Southern
African
Development Community (SADC) to mediate in the Zimbabwean crisis - a
development dismissed by some as window-dressing, but seen as a critical new
departure by insiders.
Mr Mbeki is mandated to ensure that next year's
Presidential elections are
"free and fair". The SADC decision represented
the first time the regional
grouping had taken any concrete initiative on
Zimbabwe. Diplomatic sources
say it was accompanied by the bluntest behind
closed doors criticism Mr
Mugabe has ever received.
"Mugabe was left
in no doubt the situation could not continue and his
explanation for the
attack on the opposition was not accepted," said one
highly-placed Southern
African diplomatic source. He dismissed a statement
expressing solidarity
with Mr Mugabe and calling for a lifting of western
sanctions as simply "a
face-saving exercise for the old man".
Mr Tsvangirai, whose ability as a
leader has always been questioned by key
figures in the ruling African
National Congress (ANC), went out of his way
to reject suggestions that
President Mbeki was not "an honest broker" and
said he had every confidence
the South African leader would approach the
crisis with "a new
perspective".
"This is not a personal issue. Whether people have doubts
about Mbeki is
immaterial. This is a new initiative that is not South
African driven but
regionally driven," he said in comments which indicated
he had fallen in
line with the new policy.
"Tsvangirai knows he
cannot oppose the region on this," the source added.
Leading western
nations are more than willing to drop sanctions as part of
an all-inclusive
package of measures ensuring free and fair elections next
year - the goal Mr
Mbeki is now set to try and achieve with the support of
all regional states,
opposition figures, and civil society and church
groups.
Immediately
on his return to Harare, Mr Mugabe, 83, was chosen as Zanu7-PF's
candidate
for the poll. Insiders rejected the move as little more than grand
standing
by party loyalists, terrified of taking any other decision. Zanu-PF
factions
known to oppose Mr Mugabe will not do so publicly until they are
assured of
broader outside support.
Mr Tsvangirai and other opposition activists
were brutally assaulted while
in custody after police broke up a prayer
meeting on March 11. There were
concerns that Mr Tsvangirai, still with a
bloodshot eye and bruised face,
suffered a fractured
skull.
Opposition activists have since continued to be detained,
assaulted and
abducted in a crackdown by special police units amid reports
of growing
unease in regular police and army units.
"Mugabe's
crackdown on our people leaves a trail of broken limbs, rape
victims,
torture victims and dead bodies," Mr Tsvangirai told reporters.
He called
on the South African President, who has put together a high-level
mediation
team, to negotiate the conditions for next year's elections in
Zimbabwe.
"Mugabe has a last opportunity to show goodwill by allowing the
people of
Zimbabwe to express their democratic rights," he said.
Mr Mbeki is known
to want to negotiate a settlement to the crisis which all
sides must then
respect.
zimbabwejournalists.com
2nd Apr 2007 19:45 GMT
By Nyasha Nyakunu
HARARE - Freelance
journalist Gift Phiri is reportedly in bad shape after he
was severely
assaulted while in police custody following his arrest in
Harare on 1 April
2007.
According to reliable sources MISA-Zimbabwe understands that Phiri
who is
being detained at Harare Central Police Station can hardly sit as a
result
of the beatings he was subjected to following his arrest and
subsequent
detention.
MISA-Zimbabwe has been reliably informed that
his interrogators are
demanding the disclosure of the sources of the stories
published in The
Zimbabwean for which he strings as a freelance journalist.
The police are
alleged to have searched and confiscated a computer and
compact discs from
his home.
Rangu Nyamurundira of the Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights was this morning
denied access to the detained
journalist by police at Harare Central Police
Station.
Phiri who
freelances for The Zimbabwean which is published in London , was
arrested at
Sunningdale Shopping Centre on Sunday afternoon. He was briefly
taken to
Sunningdale Police Post before being transferred to Harare Central
Police
Station.
Alec Muchadehama who is representing Phiri confirmed that the
freelance
journalist was being detained by officers from the Law and Order
Section at
Harare Central Police Station. Muchadehama was not yet in a
position to shed
light on the events and details leading to Phiri's arrest
as he was still to
have access to his client.
Recommended
Action
MISA-Zimbabwe notes with great concern and condemns in no
uncertain terms
the increase in the number of cases involving the wanton
arrests, detention
and assault of journalists going about their lawful and
professional duties
and demands that:
- the police should immediately
grant lawyers representing Phiri access to
their client.
the charges that
Phiri is facing should be availed to his lawyers.
- the journalist should
immediately be produced before the courts as a
matter of urgency in view of
the reports that he has been severely
assaulted.
- the government
through the Ministry of Information should make its
position clear regarding
the wanton, arrests, detention and torture of
journalists who are duly
accredited to conduct their professional duties in
terms of the repressive
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(AIPPA).
- the
police or any other security agents for that matter should desist from
the
wanton arrest, detention and torture of journalists going about their
lawful
duties and that those who are responsible for these actions will
personally
be held accountable for their actions as the crime of torture is
an
international crime that attracts individual criminal
responsibility.
Of great concern to MISA-Zimbabwe is the fact that
Phiri's arrest comes hard
on the heels of that of freelance journalist Frank
Chikowore and barely
weeks after the African Commission on Human and
Peoples' Rights' Special
Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, Advocate Pansy
Tlakula, sent an urgent
appeal to President Robert Mugabe regarding the
deteriorating situation on
freedom of expression in Zimbabwe.
Her
complaint to President Mugabe followed the severe assault and unlawful
detention on 11 March 2007 of Tsvangirai Mukwazhi and Tendai Musiyazviriyo,
a photojournalist and film producer who respectively freelance for
Associated Press, when the police disrupted a national day of prayer meeting
at Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield, Harare .
In light of these
developments, MISA-Zimbabwe is left with no option but to
request the
Special Rapporteur to urgently intervene once more and urge
President Robert
Mugabe to guarantee the security of journalists and other
freedom of
expression activists.
MISA-Zimbabwe requests that you send your letters
of protests demanding the
release of Phiri to the following
addresses.
President Robert Mugabe
Office of the President and
Cabinet
Munhumutapa Building
Samora Machel Avenue/3rd
Street
Harare
Telephone: 263 4 707091
Minister of
Home Affairs
11th Floor Mukwati Building
Harare
Telephone:
263 4 723653
Commissioner of Police
Police General
Headquarters
Josiah Chinamano Avenue
Harare
Telephone: 263
4 700171
Fax: 253212
Reuters
Mon 2 Apr 2007,
15:32 GMT
By Gershwin Wanneburg
JOHANNESBURG, April 2 (Reuters) -
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on
Monday welcomed a new push to solve
Zimbabwe's political crisis, but urged
outsiders to maintain pressure on the
government to avoid any escalation of
violence.
Tsvangirai said his
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was optimistic
after a summit in
Tanzania last week appointed South African President Thabo
Mbeki as mediator
between the MDC and President Robert Mugabe's government.
But he warned
his African nations to be "wary" of Mugabe and any pledges by
his government
to embrace reform, and said his party would only take part in
elections next
year provided they were free and fair.
"Only a government with democratic
legitimacy -- elected no later than
2008 -- can reverse Zimbabwe's slide
into catastrophe" said Tsvangirai.
"I would hope that the international
community would use the multilateral
institutions to put pressure on the
regime," said Tsvangirai, who has
accused Mugabe of rigging a series of
polls going back to 2002.
The MDC leader, in Johannesburg to receive
medical attention for injuries he
said were inflicted by Mugabe's security
forces, said Mbeki must "act
quickly and decisively to halt the suffering of
millions of Zimbabweans".
"Let's look at 2004 when there were these talks
about talks. It's Mugabe who
scuttled them ... because he was not interested
in any negotiation, in any
solution," he told reporters.
"This time
around I think President Mbeki must be wary not to be led through
a garden
path of Mugabe pretending to go through some process of
negotiations but
with an intention of scuttling those talks."
MBEKI NAMED
The
Southern African Development Community (SADC) named Mbeki to mediate
following a summit last week, which was convened in the wake of the
Zimbabwean government's violent March 11 crackdown on political
opponents.
Tsvangirai and dozens of others were arrested and reportedly
beaten after an
aborted prayer rally in the capital Harare, prompting sharp
condemnation
from the United States, Britain and other Western
nations.
A United Nations human rights special investigator on Monday
accused
Mugabe's government of effectively instructing security forces to
use lethal
force against opponents and said they could one day be held
accountable in
international courts.
SADC, which has been criticised
for turning a blind eye to Mugabe's
crackdown, hopes its appointment of
Mbeki, who has used his influence to
mediate in other African conflicts,
will lead to talks between Mugabe and
the MDC.
Tsvangirai said he had
"no doubt" Mbeki would act with SADC's full backing
and that it could lend
the initiative force.
Mugabe, Zimbabwe's only ruler since independence
from Britain in 1980, has
been accused by the West of authoritarian rule and
economic mismanagement,
which has left the country struggling with the
world's highest inflation
rate, soaring unemployment and regular food and
fuel shortages.
Mugabe says he is being punished for seizing white-owned
farms to give to
landless blacks, accusing Western countries led by Britain
of seeking to use
the MDC to effect "regime change" in
Harare.
Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party on Friday brushed aside the Western
criticism
and endorsed the 83-year-old leader as its candidate for elections
expected
in 2008 -- a move that could see him remain in office through
2013.
Mail & Guardian
Godwin
Gandu
01 April 2007 11:59
Hit squads have been formed to target opposition
politicians branded
"undesirables" by the state, the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change
said this week.
"It reminds of [Nicolai] Ceaucescu,"
said opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai, referring to the former president
of Romania, on
Wednesday. "That's the mark of a dictator; that's how he
deals with his
political opponents," he told the Mail & Guardian just
before police
arrested him and 20 other MDC
activists.
Tsvangirai was due to hold a press
conference to denounce
recent human rights violations and the formation of
the hit squads, which
the MDC says are "coordinated by state security
agents".
It says these "developments leave no one in
any doubt that
tyranny has taken root in Harare and SADC leaders need to
take a solid
position on the deteriorating situation in the country. The
region owes it
to posterity to rein in [President Robert]
Mugabe."
Opposition activists are being abducted,
tortured or
beaten to a pulp as the repression of dissenting voices reaches
new levels.
Mugabe warned last week that his government will heavily arm the
police. The
Zanu- PF youth league declared it will "take the law into our
own hands"
against the opposition.
"It was common
in Latin America and Asian countries where
there was a dictator," said John
Makumbe, University of Zimbabwe political
science lecturer. "In Africa, Idi
Amin used hit squads against opponents and
former Malawi leader Kamuzi Banda
used hit squads to kill his ministers,"
Makumbe said. "We are already taking
that route."
Nelson Chamisa, the spokes-person for the
MDC, said this
week that 116 activists had been abducted throughout the
country in the past
two weeks, while others have "just been beaten and left
for dead".
GOD HEARS THE CRY OF THE OPPRESSED
on the Current Crisis of Our
Country
Holy Thursday, 5 April 2007
As your Shepherds we
have reflected on our national situation and, in the
light of the Word of
God and Christian Social Teaching, have discerned what
we now share with
you, in the hope of offering guidance, light and hope in
these difficult
times.
The Crisis
The people of Zimbabwe are
suffering. More and more people are getting
angry, even from among those who
had seemed to be doing reasonably well
under the circumstances. The reasons
for the anger are many, among them, bad
governance and corruption. A tiny
minority of the people have become very
rich overnight, while the majority
are languishing in poverty, creating a
huge gap between the rich and the
poor. Our Country is in deep crisis. A
crisis is an unstable situation of
extreme danger and difficulty. Yet, it
can also be turned into a moment of
grace and of a new beginning, if those
responsible for causing the crisis
repent, heed the cry of the people and
foster a change of heart and mind
especially during the imminent Easter
Season, so our Nation can rise to new
life with the Risen Lord.
In Zimbabwe today, there are Christians
on all sides of the conflict; and
there are many Christians sitting on the
fence. Active members of our Parish
and Pastoral Councils are prominent
officials at all levels of the ruling
party. Equally distinguished and
committed office-bearers of the opposition
parties actively support church
activities in every parish and diocese. They
all profess their loyalty to
the same Church. They are all baptised, sit and
pray and sing together in
the same church, take part in the same celebration
of the Eucharist and
partake of the same Body and Blood of Christ. While the
next day, outside
the church, a few steps away, Christian State Agents,
policemen and
soldiers assault and beat peaceful, unarmed demonstrators and
torture
detainees. This is the unacceptable reality on the ground, which
shows much
disrespect for human life and falls far below the dignity of both
the
perpetrator and the victim.
In our prayer and reflection during
this Lent, we have tried to understand
the reasons why this is so. We have
concluded that the crisis of our Country
is, in essence, a crisis of
governance and a crisis of leadership apart from
being a spiritual and moral
crisis.
A Crisis of Governance
The
national health system has all but disintegrated as a result of
prolonged
industrial action by medical professionals, lack of drugs,
essential
equipment in disrepair and several other factors.
In the
educational sector, high tuition fees and levies, the lack of
teaching and
learning resources, and the absence of teachers have brought
activities in
many public schools and institutions of higher education to a
standstill.
The number of students forced to terminate their education is
increasing
every month. At the same time, Government interference with the
provision of
education by private schools has created unnecessary tension
and
conflict.
Public services in Zimbabwe's towns and cities have
crumbled. Roads, street
lighting, water and sewer reticulation are in a
state of severe disrepair to
the point of constituting an acute threat to
public health and safety, while
the collection of garbage has come to a
complete standstill in many places.
Unabated political interference with the
work of democratically elected
Councils is one of the chief causes of this
breakdown.
The erosion of the public transport system has
negatively affected every
aspect of our Country's economy and social life.
Horrific accidents claim
the lives of dozens of citizens each
month.
Almost two years after the Operation Murambatsvina,
thousands of victims are
still without a home. That inexcusable injustice
has not been forgotten.
Following a radical land reform programme
seven years ago, many people are
today going to bed hungry and wake up to a
day without work. Hundreds of
companies were forced to close. Over 80 per
cent of the people of Zimbabwe
are without employment. Scores risk their
lives week after week in search of
work in neighbouring
countries.
Inflation has soared to over 1,600 per cent, and
continues to rise, daily.
It is the highest in the world and has made the
life of ordinary Zimbabweans
unbearable, regardless of their political
preferences. We are all concerned
for the turnaround of our economy but this
will remain a dream unless
corruption is dealt with severely irrespective of
a person's political or
social status or connections.
The
list of justified grievances is long and could go on for many
pages.
The suffering people of Zimbabwe are groaning in agony:
"Watchman, how much
longer the night"? (Is 21:11)
A Crisis of
Moral Leadership
The crisis of our Country is, secondly, a crisis
of leadership. The burden
of that crisis is borne by all Zimbabweans, but
especially the young who
grow up in search of role models. The youth are
influenced and formed as
much by what they see their elders doing as by what
they hear and learn at
school or from their peers.
If our
young people see their leaders habitually engaging in acts and words
which
are hateful, disrespectful, racist, corrupt, lawless, unjust, greedy,
dishonest and violent in order to cling to the privileges of power and
wealth, it is highly likely that many of them will behave in exactly the
same manner. The consequences of such overtly corrupt leadership as we are
witnessing in Zimbabwe today will be with us for many years, perhaps
decades, to come. Evil habits and attitudes take much longer to rehabilitate
than
to acquire. Being elected to a position of leadership should not
be
misconstrued as a licence to do as one pleases at the expense of the will
and trust of the electorate.
A Spiritual and Moral
Crisis
Our crisis is not only political and economic but first
and foremost a
spiritual and moral crisis. As the young independent nation
struggles to
find its common national spirit, the people of Zimbabwe are
reacting against
the "structures of sin" in our society. Pope John Paul II
says that the
"structures of sin" are "rooted in personal sin, and thus
always linked to
the concrete acts of individuals who introduce these
structures, consolidate
them and make them difficult to remove. And thus
they grow stronger, spread,
and become the source of other sins, and so
influence people's behaviour."
The Holy Father stresses that in order to
understand the reality that
confronts us, we must "give a name to the root
of the evils which afflict
us." That is what we have done in this Pastoral
Letter.
The Roots of the Crisis
The present crisis
in our Country has its roots deep in colonial society.
Despite the rhetoric
of a glorious socialist revolution brought about by the
armed struggle, the
colonial structures and institutions of pre-independent
Zimbabwe continue to
persist in our society. None of the unjust and
oppressive security laws of
the Rhodesian State have been repealed; in fact,
they have been reinforced
by even more repressive legislation, the Public
Order and Security Act and
the Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Act, in particular. It
almost appears as though someone sat down
with the Declaration of Human
Rights and deliberately scrubbed out each in
turn.
Why was
this done? Because soon after Independence, the power and wealth of
the tiny
white Rhodesian elite was appropriated by an equally exclusive
black elite,
some of whom have governed the country for the past 27 years
through
political patronage. Black Zimbabweans today fight for the same
basic rights
they fought for during the liberation struggle. It is the same
conflict
between those who possess power and wealth in abundance, and those
who do
not; between those who are determined to maintain their privileges of
power
and wealth at any cost, even at the cost of bloodshed, and those who
demand
their democratic rights and a share in the fruits of independence;
between
those who continue to benefit from the present system of inequality
and
injustice, because it favours them and enables them to maintain an
exceptionally high standard of living, and those who go to bed hungry at
night and wake up in the morning to another day without work and without
income; between those who only know the language of violence and
intimidation, and those who feel they have nothing more to lose because
their Constitutional rights have been abrogated and their votes rigged. Many
people in Zimbabwe are angry, and their anger is now erupting into open
revolt in one township after another.
The confrontation in
our Country has now reached a flashpoint. As the
suffering population
becomes more insistent, generating more and more
pressure through boycotts,
strikes, demonstrations and uprisings, the State
responds with ever harsher
oppression through arrests, detentions, banning
orders, beatings and
torture. In our judgement, the situation is extremely
volatile. In order to
avoid further bloodshed and avert a mass uprising the
nation needs a new
people driven Constitution that will guide a democratic
leadership chosen in
free and fair elections that will offer a chance for
economic recovery under
genuinely new policies.
Our Message of Hope: God is always on the
Side of the Oppressed
The Bible has much to say about situations
of confrontation. The conflict
between the oppressor and the oppressed is a
central theme throughout the
Old and New Testaments. Biblical scholars have
discovered that there are no
less than twenty different root words in Hebrew
to describe oppression.
One example is the Creed of the chosen
people, which we read on the First
Sunday of Lent: "My Father was a homeless
Aramaean. He went down to Egypt to
find refuge there, few in numbers; but
there he became a nation, great,
mighty and strong. The Egyptians
ill-treated us, they gave us no peace and
inflicted harsh slavery on us. But
we called on the Lord, the God of our
fathers. The Lord heard our voice and
saw our misery, our toil and our
oppression; and the Lord brought us out of
Egypt with mighty hand and
outstretched arm, with great terror, and with
signs and wonders. . "(Deut
26:5b-8).
The Bible describes
oppression in concrete and vivid terms: Oppression is
the experience of
being crushed, degraded, humiliated, exploited,
impoverished, defrauded,
deceived and enslaved. And the oppressors are
described as cruel, ruthless,
arrogant, greedy, violent and tyrannical; they
are called 'the enemy'. Such
words could only have been used by people who
in their own lives and history
had an immediate and personal experience of
being oppressed. To them Yahweh
revealed himself as the God of compassion
who hears the cry of the oppressed
and who liberates them from their
oppressors. The God of the Bible is always
on the side of the oppressed. He
does not reconcile Moses and Pharaoh, or
the Hebrew slaves with their
Egyptian oppressors. Oppression is sin and
cannot be compromised with. It
must be overcome. God takes sides with the
oppressed. As we read in Psalm
103:6: "God, who does what is right, is
always on the side of the oppressed".
When confronted with the
politically powerful, Jesus speaks the language of
the boldest among
Israel's prophets. He calls Herod 'that fox' (Lk13:32) and
courageously
exposes the greed for money, power and adulation of the
political elite. And
he warns his disciples never to do likewise: "Among the
gentiles it is the
kings who lord it over them, and those who have authority
over them are
given the title Benefactor. With you this must not happen. No,
the greatest
among you must behave as if he were the youngest, the leader as
if he were
the one who serves" (Lk 22:25-27). And he warns Pilate in no
uncertain terms
that he will be held to account by God for his use of power
over life and
death (John 19:11).
Throughout the history of the Church,
persecuted Christians have remembered,
prayed and sung the prophetic words
of Mary: "[The Lord] has used the power
of his arm, he has routed the
arrogant of heart. He has pulled down princes
from their thrones and raised
high the lowly. He has filled the starving
with good things, sent the rich
away empty" (Lk1:50-53).
Generations of Zimbabweans, too,
throughout their own long history of
oppression and their struggle for
liberation, have remembered, prayed and
sung these texts from the Old and
New Testaments and found strength, courage
and perseverance in their faith
that Jesus is on their side. That is the
message of hope we want to convey
in this Pastoral Letter: God is on your
side. He always hears the cry of the
poor and oppressed and saves them.
Conclusion
We conclude
our Pastoral Letter by affirming with a clear and unambiguous
Yes our
support of morally legitimate political authority. At the same time
we say
an equally clear and unambiguous No to power through violence,
oppression
and intimidation. We call on those who are responsible for the
current
crisis in our Country to repent and listen to the cry of their
citizens. To
the people of Zimbabwe we appeal for peace and restraint when
expressing
their justified grievances and demonstrating for their human
rights.
Words call for concrete action, for symbols and
gestures which keep our hope
alive. We therefore invite all the faithful to
a Day of Prayer and Fasting
for Zimbabwe, on Saturday, 14 April 2007. This
will be followed by a Prayer
Service for Zimbabwe, on Friday, every week, in
all parishes of our Country.
As for the details, each Diocese will make
known its own arrangements.
May the Peace and Hope of the Risen
Lord be with you always. Happy
Easter.
PRAYER
FOR OUR COUNTRY
God Our Father,
You have given all peoples
one common origin,
And your will is to gather them as one family in
yourself.
Give compassion to our leaders, integrity to our citizens, and
repentance to
us all.
Fill the hearts of all women and men with your
love
And the desire to ensure justice for all their brothers and
sisters.
By sharing the good things you give us
May we ensure
justice and equality for every human being,
An end to all division, and a
human society built on love,
Lasting prosperity and peace for
all.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Our
Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father
.
+Robert C.
Ndlovu, Archbishop of Harare (ZCBC
President)
+Pius Alec M. Ncube, Archbishop of Bulawayo
+Alexio
Churu Muchabaiwa, Bishop of Mutare (ZCBC
Secretary/Treasurer)
+Michael D. Bhasera, Bishop of
Masvingo
+Angel Floro, Bishop of Gokwe
(ZCBC Vice
President)
+Martin Munyanyi, Bishop of
Gweru
+Dieter B. Scholz SJ, Bishop of Chinhoyi
+Albert Serrano,
Bishop of Hwange
+Patrick M. Mutume, Auxiliary Bishop of Mutare
(02-04-07)
Maintaining Momentum Against The
Mugabe Regime.
Let us Drive the Tyrant out of
Town.
2nd April 2007; Harare ,
Zimbabwe
Introduction
The MDC National Executive
Committee met on Saturday 31st March 2007 ,
followed by the National Council
on the 1st of April 2007 . The National
Council considered the current
National Crisis. This diplomatic briefing is
pursuant to the discussions and
resolutions of the National Council, the MDC
supreme decision making organ
in between congresses.
On The SADC Summit
The MDC places a
lot of significance on the convening, deliberations and
decisions of the
SADC Heads of State Emergency Summit held in Tanzania on
the 28th March 2007
. The fact that the regional body met specifically to
discuss Zimbabwe is in
itself an acknowledgement of the Zimbabwean crisis
and an acceptance that
the despot Robert Mugabe has failed to run the
affairs of our nation. More
importantly, the SADC Emergency Summit clearly
recognized that the on-going
economic and political crisis is both
unsustainable and a threat to regional
stability. This is unprecedented.
The SADC
position is further reinforced by the bold decision to appoint
President
Thabo Mbeki of South Africa as the mediator with a view to
facilitating
resolution of the crisis through dialogue between ZANU-PF and
democratic
forces. Such an unequivocal regional mandate to the SA President
was
unthinkable a mere four weeks ago. This is a triumph of regional
sovereignty
and Pan-Africanism over narrow, perverted and misconceived
notions of
national sovereignty. This is victory for the people of Zimbabwe
, and
Africans in general. The MDC applauds these resolutions of the SADC
Emergency Summit and condemns the attempt by the Dictatorship to underplay
SADC efforts by declaring the Summit a victory for the disastrous Mugabe
policies that have brought suffering to the people.
Hell, No.
It was neither victory nor an excellent meeting for Robert Mugabe.
It was a
devastating blow to the ugly face of ZANU(PF). There has been
movement in
attitudes and opinions among Africans with respect to Zimbabwe .
Africans no
longer accept Mugabe's grandstanding as a liberation hero,
freedom fighter,
land revolutionary, anti-imperialist and champion of
African rights. They
now accept him for what he is: A despot who has become
a negation of the
values and principles of the liberation war; a dictator
who brutalizes
Africans and denies them basic human rights and economic
opportunities.
What We
Want
So what is it that the people of Zimbabwe want? It is our
submission that at
the core of the Zimbabwean crisis are issues of
governance and legitimacy.
Our country is ruled by a corrupt, incompetent,
criminal, and brutal
kleptocracy, which has retained power through
fraudulent elections. We do
not want any further polls in our country under
the current constitutional
and electoral framework. We want a new
people-driven democratic
constitution, electoral law reforms and legislative
changes that allow for
the holding of free and fair elections. Furthermore,
we want this new
democratic and electoral dispensation to take root in our
country now, thus
creating conditions conducive for free and fair elections.
It is our demand
that the first plebiscite under these conditions should be
internationally
supervised. We will respect any government that is produced
by these
processes.
Beyond resolving the challenge of
illegitimacy, the people of Zimbabwe can
then deal with issues of economic
recovery, stabilization, transformation
and growth. We want Zimbabwe to be a
globally competitive economy in terms
of GDP, per capita income, business
growth, exports, FDI, worker conditions,
wages, and entrepreneurship. Our
vision is that of Zimbabwe as the leading
African democracy, characterized
by people-centered social development and
economic
growth.
The Strategy to
Victory
How are we going to achieve what we want? In order to
establish leveling of
the political playing field in Zimbabwe , through the
reforms we seek, there
is need for a broad alliance of all democratic
forces. Civic society
organizations and political parties must work together
to restore democracy
and freedom in Zimbabwe . Events of the past month have
demonstrated the
capacity of Zimbabweans to execute unity of action and
purpose. As a party
we resolve to continue with the spirit of cooperation in
pursuit of the
re-democratisation of Zimbabwe beginning with the achievement
of national
consensus on a new constitution followed by agreement on a new
electoral
dispensation which will ensure that the next elections are a
palpably free
and fair. We will continue with our Defiance Campaign to press
the ZANU-PF
government towards an all inclusive dialogue around the changes
we seek. We
will continue to defy POSA, AIPPA, and the illegitimate
government of Robert
Mugabe.
It is critical to maintain and
leverage the momentum that has gathered
against Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe .
All democratic forces must close ranks,
carry out joint actions of defiance
against unjust laws and the illegitimate
regime, and also support each other
in their independent institutional
initiatives and actions. It is in this
context that the MDC unreservedly
supports the national Stay Away planned by
the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions on 3-4 April 2007. We fully endorse
this revolutionary confrontation
with the regime and call upon all
Zimbabweans to rally behind the trade
union movement to make the Stay Away a
success.
When the conditions for free and fair elections have
been achieved, the MDC
believes it is critical for the democratic forces to
ensure that every vote
counts against ZANU(PF). It is essential that
opposition parties do not
compete against each other in elections. There is
need to galvanise and
energise the entire national electorate by presenting
a united front against
ZANU(PF). We believe in a single candidate philosophy
and principle in all
elections (Presidential, Parliamentary, Senate,
Council, etc).
Consequently, the MDC resolves to continue
dialogue and seek agreement with
other opposition parties in order to
establish a possible election coalition
framework and candidate selection
methodology. It is our submission that
national interest should take
precedence over narrow and selfish interests.
The democratic forces should
not allow ZANU(PF) to reinvent, regenerate, and
succeed itself. If this
happens, it will mean ZANU(PF) rule for another
20-30 years. This must be
stopped by any means necessary. The old adage has
never been more
applicable; united we stand, divided we fall. An all-
inclusive and
cohesive united front of ALL democratic forces is essential to
give our
country a fresh start. Our nation needs the injection of a new
value system,
a different political culture, and redemptive institutional
frameworks. Our
economy demands creative technocratic solutions and capacity
that these
ZANU(PF) morons are incapable of
providing.
Conclusion
We will be masters
of our destiny. We will not allow the dictator to
determine the future of
our country. We will step up to the plate and free
ourselves. We will
embark on an economic journey to the promise land. We
have the potential to
be a globally competitive economy. With our strength
in natural resources,
physical infrastructure, and human capital, Zimbabwe
is destined for
greatness. What we need is to stand up to the ZANU(PF)
cowardly dictatorship
which has turned the state into an unashamed criminal
state. The
transformation of the police into a criminal sadistic brutal
force is worse
than any thing we ever saw under the Smith regime. We will
stand united as a
people as we confront the regime in the process of
reclaiming our
sovereignty, freedoms, liberties and dignity. It is our
generational
mandate. We will not be found wanting. We will defeat the
ZANU(PF)
dictatorship. We owe it to ourselves, to future generations and to
posterity
to stand firm.
The Struggle
Continues.
Arthur G.O. Mutambara
MDC President
By Lance Guma
02
April 2007
Eight opposition officials and activists were abducted from
their hospital
beds and taken to prison late night on Saturday. MDC Glen
View Member of
Parliament Paul Madzore, National Executive member Ian
Makone, former Daily
News journalist and now MDC information officer Luke
Tamborinyoka and 5
others were re-arrested, despite a court order that they
be hospitalised.
Only one, Shame Wakatama, a bodyguard to MDC Chitungwiza MP
Fidelis Mhashu,
was left at the Avenues Clinic.
Tsvangirai MDC
spokesman Nelson Chamisa told Newsreel some of those abducted
from hospital
were on intravenous drips but this did not deter the security
agents who
just ripped them out of their arms.
MP Madzore, Wakatama and Makone had
collapsed on Saturday while they and 6
others awaited a bail hearing at the
magistrate's court. Police arrested
them over trumped up allegations that
they masterminded a string of petrol
bomb attacks across the country.
Tamborinyoka was arrested alongside other
party workers following a police
raid at Harvest House, the MDC
headquarters. On Saturday the courts had
ordered hospital treatment for
those severely beaten and tortured in
custody.
Meanwhile the magistrate's court on Monday denied bail to 8
other opposition
officials, including Raymond Bake the Chairperson for ward
34 in the
Combined Harare Residents Association. Bake was abducted last
Tuesday in
Mufakose and Newsreel reported how his 17-year-old daughter
Rosila visited
every police station in Harare looking for him. He was found
at Harare
remand prison on Sunday. The exact number of activists arrested
and in
custody is unknown but estimates run into hundreds. MDC lawyer Alec
Muchadehama says they will only know the exact number once all the activists
are brought to court.
The state is accusing the MDC of orchestrating
a spate of petrol bomb
attacks on police stations and business premises
owned by Zanu PF officials.
Chamisa however dismissed this as 'preposterous'
saying it 'smacks of a
desperate regime.' He says the government has no
solutions to problems
affecting the country and was now lashing out at
people in the opposition
who are perceived to be effective in their work.
'This is a sustained terror
campaign against the opposition,' he
added.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
The Zimbabwean
Students in Zimbabwe's tertiary
institutions are under serious and life
threatening attacks by the unruly
regime of Robert Mugabe. The ZINASU
President, Promise Mkwananzi is
currently in hiding, after being reliably
informed that he is amongst the
top most wanted pro-democracy activists. An
innocent student was viciously
attacked by state security agents in town
after being mistaken for
Mkwananzi. The student was however released after
producing his identity. He
sustained a broken jaw.
Two student leaders from the University of
Zimbabwe were severly assaulted
on the 21st of March 2007, whilst on their
way to their halls of residents
from the evening study at around 8.45pm. One
of the student leaders, Tatenda
Kunaka sustained two deep cuts in the face.
Another student leader, again
from the University of Zimbabwe, Lovemore
Chinoputsa, was attacked by the
police in town at the Haverst House and
sustained internal injuries.
Lovemore is currently admitted at a private
clinic in Borrowdale, Harare.
ZINASU Vice President, Gideon Chitanga, was
physically assaulted by
non-uniformed police officers at the Magistrates
courts in Masvingo today,
where he was to appeared in court for his trial
after being arrested for
addressing a Students General Meeting at the
Masvingo State University in
February this year.
Two student
activists from the Bulawayo Polytechnic College, Lancelot
Mugadza and Obey
Munyoro who were on suspension, were last week expelled
from college after
having addressed students in the campus dining hall.
Lancelot was a
candidate for the SRC Presidential elections which were then
held after his
expulsion.
Meanwhile, students and their leaders all over the country
have vowed to
support the two day stayaway, which was called for by the
Zimbabwe Congress
of Trade Unions (ZCTU). The action is on from 3rd of April
to the 4th of
April 2007. The stay away comes against a backdrop of high
annual inflation
rate, which is currently pegged at 1729.9%, high cost of
living, exhobitant
prices of the anti-retroviral drugs among other
issues.
Defending Academic Freedoms in Zimbabwe
(DAFIZ)
The Information Desk
Zimbabwe National Students Union
21
Wembly Road, Eastlea, Harare, Zimbabwe,
00263912301231/ 002634788135
zinasu@gmail. com
www.zinasu.org
The Guardian
We need to
stop navel gazing and utilise the legal mechanisms available to
bring an end
to Robert Mugabe's despotic rule in Zimbabwe.
Rosa Davis
April
2, 2007 10:30 AM |
The situation in Zimbabwe has been at crisis point for a
number of months,
but recent events have shocked even the most robust
followers of African
politics. The recent beatings of political opponents,
threats to expel
diplomats, and other despicable actions have created a
furore amongst the
international community. From a legal point of view, the
question is whether
Robert Mugabe can be held accountable for these events
and in what forum
this will be possible.
There have been a number of
instances where attempts have been made to
prosecute foreign leaders abroad
for atrocities committed in their own
countries. Belgium issued an arrest
warrant for the leader of the Democratic
Republic of Congo in order to
prosecute him under the jurisdiction that he
had committed crimes that
breached international conventions, and therefore
any party to those
conventions could enforce them. This attempt failed, but
shows the basic
premise that as an international community we have an
obligation to try to
enforce international law and punish those who breach
it.
One of the
main problems is that of state sovereignty - even if an arrest
warrant were
to be issued for Mugabe, he could only be arrested outside of
Zimbabwe, and
even then his country of nationality would have the option of
prosecuting
him rather than him being tried abroad. This is problematic,
especially
given that the likelihood of a sham trial would be high.
The United
Nations has a specialised court - the international court of
justice - which
is designed to resolve disputes between states. It cannot
deal with purely
domestic events, nor can it be used as a place to deal with
individuals who
fall foul of international law. Although an advisory opinion
may be
requested by a non-governmental organisation concerned with the
legalities
of the situation in Zimbabwe, the ruling of the court will have
no legal
effect and can only be used to place political pressure on the
country.
Unfortunately, political pressure does not seem to have
curbed the political
chaos in this country, and it is unlikely that an
international court of
justice advisory opinion will make any difference to
Mugabe's current
actions. Unfortunately the only countries who seem to
respond to
international political pressure are those who value being
members of the
international community. Mugabe appears to relish his role as
a pariah, and
presumably the more pressure that is applied the more that
this role is
reinforced.
The international criminal tribunals for
Yugoslavia and Rwanda were set up
in order to deal with domestic atrocities
perpetrated by nationals against
other nationals. Although some protection
of nationals from other nationals
is afforded by international conventions,
this is a situation that was not
previously thought of in terms of the laws
of war. These tribunals were
partly set up to deter further atrocities, and
partly set up to punish
previous crimes due to the lack of legal
infrastructure available in these
war-torn countries to deal with them on a
national level. By and large they
have been successful, mainly due to the
cooperation of the countries and
leaderships involved. It is nigh impossible
that Mugabe will agree to such a
tribunal being set up, let alone cooperate
with it. Mugabe has already
demolished the national legal system in
Zimbabwe, so the chances of him
cooperating with any other legal system
remain slim at best.
Countries such as Cambodia, East Timor and Sierra
Leone have had mixed
systems of justice based on national and international
law in order to deal
with past atrocities. This may be a solution in the
future once the country
has been torn apart and rebuilt. However, it would
be preferable to find a
solution which would stop further atrocities being
committed in Zimbabwe
now, rather than waiting until the country (and many
people within it) has
been destroyed before taking retributive action
through legal methods.
The international criminal court (ICC) was set up
in order to deal with
atrocities committed by state representatives against
foreign nationals,
both domestically and abroad. Whether it can be used to
deal with the
situation in Zimbabwe is a very different matter. This court,
though highly
relevant, is only emerging from its embryonic state. It was
set up to deal
with perpetrators and orchestrators of the worst types of
atrocities known
to mankind. Mugabe, in my opinion, fits this bill. He is a
dictator and a
despot who is wreaking havoc with the country and people over
which he
rules. Moreover, the atrocities committed breach numerous
international
conventions against torture, crimes against humanity, et al.
He is a prime
candidate for the ICC, especially since he has committed
crimes against
foreign nationals over which their countries of origin could
exercise
jurisdiction and ask the ICC to prosecute. Further, there is no
chance that
the ICC will allow Zimbabwe to exercise the complementarity rule
and
prosecute these crimes nationally, due to the decimation of the domestic
legal infrastructure.
So, rather than bleating and whining about the
situation in Zimbabwe, and
instead of twiddling our thumbs and crying into
our lattes, we should be
utilising the legal mechanisms available to deal
with Mugabe. Political
pressure has not worked so far, and, whilst we sit
back waiting to see if it
ever will, people's lives are becoming
increasingly bleaker. However, if we
lobbied our government and raised the
issue in parliament, we could ensure
that the Office of the Prosecutor at
the ICC begins investigations and
proceedings against Mugabe. All that it
requires is a little less navel
gazing, and a little more concerted
action.
------------------------
Comments
Comment
No. 508156
April 2 10:43
GBR
It's as clear as black and
white. the situation was better under Ian Smith
when at leat the pound in
our pocket meant something. He might have been a
Yorkshireman,
E-BA-GUM.
UncleJ
Comment No. 508158
April 2
10:43
GBR
It's as clear as black and white. the situation was
better under Ian Smith
when at leat the pound in our pocket meant something.
He might have been a
Yorkshireman, E-BA-GUM.
mygirl
Comment
No. 508165
April 2 10:47
GBR
good to know that there might
actually be a way of prosecuting the monster,
mugabe, who has terrorised and
impoverished zimbabwe with impunity for so
many years. however many more
people will die from hunger and disease and
police action before the
international courts will take action. witness
Darfur.
nickpheas
Comment No. 508171
April 2
10:49
GBR
So some court in a white country could prosecute him. Would
he care?
figliomedio
Comment No. 508197
April 2
11:00
GBR
Whatever happened to the principle that we don't interfere
with the internal
doestic affairs of a sovereign state?
And why
should not Mugabe be given a modicum of credit for the heroic
overthrow of
the foul and stinking apartheid regime of Ian Smith and his
Unilateral
Declaration of Independence?
AlexStein
Comment No.
508198
April 2 11:00
ISR
Interesting piece. Do you think this
principle should be applied widely?
What do you think of the attempts to
bring Sharon to book for Sabra and
Shatilla, for
example?
WallyMcWhinger
Comment No. 508237
April 2
11:16
GBR
Rosa, didn't you used to be a commenter here and now you've
got your own
column? Well there's hope for us all...
Alexstein: "Do
you think this principle should be applied widely? What do
you think of the
attempts to bring Sharon to book for Sabra and Shatilla?"
Worth a go - it's
not like he could stop us is it.
Ishouldapologise
Comment No.
508245
April 2 11:22
GBR
Robert Mugabe is the father of his
nation.
.
.
He did what South Africa is afraid to do so openly:
redistribute the land
stolen from the African people by the conquest of the
British colonists
invading under Rhodes.
.
Where was Britain when
Rhodesia declared UDI under Smith? No defence of
justice and democracy and
equality and the right of the majority to control
their own country
then.
.
South Africa has learned lessons from Mugabe. It has learned to
take a
softly, softly approach to land refor.
.
.
.
Why do
people assume the opposition has legitimacy just because they are
opposition. The opposition in Zimbabwe are being groomed by the US and the
UK. They are being supported by the US and the UK to the extent that they go
along with the US and UK idea of market driven negative
liberty.
.
.
African politician's have told me that the pposition in
Zimbabwe don't have
much support in the country and that Zimabweans would
rather see Ms. Mujura,
the vice-president of Zimbabwe in
power.
.
Let's remember, Mugabe took on a white settler elite that had a
lot of rich
fertile land to lose and that these are people with strong links
to the
Metropolis.
.
.
.
Some of the voices you will hear on
this debate are the embittered voices of
white Rhodesians who lost their
priviliges.
.
Yes, Mugabe should leave, but it's none of Britain's
business. We have done
enough damage in Africa in our history
already.
.
.
It's none of our damn
business.
Donuts
Comment No. 508253
April 2
11:24
GBR
"So, rather than bleating and whining about the situation in
Zimbabwe, and
instead of twiddling our thumbs and crying into our lattes, we
should be
utilising the legal mechanisms available to deal with Mugabe.
Political
pressure has not worked so far, and, whilst we sit back waiting to
see if it
ever will, people's lives are becoming increasingly bleaker.
However, if we
lobbied our government and raised the issue in parliament, we
could ensure
that the Office of the Prosecutor at the ICC begins
investigations and
proceedings against Mugabe. All that it requires is a
little less navel
gazing, and a little more concerted action."
I'm
sorry but this is both laughable and totally ill-advised. Contemptuous
and
dismissive too. How many people do you think have been trying to sort
Mugabe
out for years, decades even, and you think reading a lawbook will
sort it
out? Don't you think people have lobbied parliament, talked to their
MPs,
etc etc.
Oh, if only we'd thought of that first...
A couple of
facts:
Peter Tatchell tried to do a citizens arrest on
Mugabe.
Mugabe is banned from the EU entirely as a result of political
pressure.
Half-baked research dressed up as serious comment. Please, your
latte is
getting cold.
sethfreedman
Comment No.
508254
April 2 11:24
GBR
stein directed me here - but it's all
a bit highbrow for my liking. as for
prosecuting sharon - bit like flogging
a dead horse, wouldn't you say? let
sleeping dogs lie (and any other adages
that fit the bill)
conorfoley
Comment No. 508255
April 2
11:25
GBR
Alex: you are confusing the ICC with proscutions under
universal
jurisdiction (as does the article to some extent). Sharon could
not be
prosecuted under the ICC for Sabra and Shatilla because the massacre
occurred before the the Statute came into force and anyway neither Lebanon
nor Israel have ratified it. There was an attempt to prosecute Sharon in
Belgium under universal jusridiction laws, but it failed. This followed the
Pinochet case and a number of others. It was partly due to concern about
'politically-motivated prosecutions' that the US became so paranoid about
the ICC - although the principles involved are quite different.
I
think Peter Tatchell tried to do a citizen's arrest on Mugabe the last
time
he visited Britain. If he joins the thread it would be interesting to
hear
him say a bit more about it.
RosaDavis
Comment No.
508270
April 2 11:33
GBR
nickpheas - the ICC is not a 'court in
a white country'. It is a court
designed for the international community as
a whole to prosecute war
criminals and suchlike. Hopefully it will live up
to its mandate as a
representative of all nations.
Figliomedio -
there must come a point in time where the internal affairs of
a sovereign
state are deemed the responsibility of the international
community. The
reason for international conventions on human rights et al
are to impose a
universal morality upon all nations. It is a very tricky
area in terms of
when and how to intervene, but it is my opinion that the
situation in
Zimbabwe warrants international intervention for the sake of
those who live
under that regime.
Ishoulapologise - "He did what South Africa is afraid
to do so openly:
redistribute the land stolen from the African people by the
conquest of the
British colonists invading under Rhodes." Unfortunately
Mugabe's
redistribution of land has resulted in such a reduction of produce
that
there is a significant food shortage in the country. I agree that
colonialism was morally abhorrent, and that African nations have the right
to rebuild their countries under new regimes. However, surely it is the duty
of the ex-colonial states to help ensure that the rebuilding of these states
is done without human rights violations and without bloodshed and
destruction. As my mum always said - "if you make a mess, it is your job to
clean it up".
Teacup
Comment No. 508282
April 2
11:40
IND
As much as I would like to see Mr. Mugabe removed, I don't
think that an
International Court is the way to remove him, or bring him to
book.
FiloMedio is correct about not interfering with a sovereign
state.
robjmckinney
Comment No. 508298
April 2
11:46
No doubt when Mugabe is replaced another poor quality leader will
replace
him. Termoil is going to be the future of Africa until the socities
mature
and no doubt our children and their children will have similar
discussions.
General predictions are that this poor government in Africa
will last at
least until mid-20th century where western government may not
be able to
allow such despots to continue. The West will then have to sit
back while
Africa become a powerhouse following China's lead. Mugabe soon
pass into
history where he belongs, but who will replace him and will this
bring real
stability to the country, can they attract the skills of the
white farmers
back to feed the people and restart the economy, I think
not!
nowthennowthen
Comment No. 508326
April 2
11:59
GBR
AlexStein
It's not going to happen until someone
discovers oil in Zimbabwe.
As for prosecuting Sharon (not that you would
be able to get him into
court - he's in a coma unless you hadn't noticed), I
have no problem with
that provided you also campaign to prosecute the
leaders of the Christain
Phalage terror group that carried out the
killings.
Add to this shopping list of world dictators and despots; King
Fahd of Saudi
Arabia, Mubarak of Egypt, Assad of Syria, Ahmadinejad of Iran,
Kim Jong-il
of North Korea, Chavez of Venezuela, Nassrallah of Hezbollah,
Khaled Mashaal
of Hamas, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, the Junta in Burma and
finally not
forgetting Livingston of London.
I'm sure there's more.
No doubt the left would sooner impeach Bush and Blair
before this bunch, but
after Sharon of course.
theoldfeller
Comment No.
508349
April 2 12:09
GBR
How come the Iraq solution doesnt
apply here? If its good enough for Saddam
its good enough for Mugabe. Dont
we want the walnut oil wells?
Bit late to brimg Sharon to book. What
about Bush for Guantanamo?
OwenOliver
Comment No.
508363
April 2 12:15
GBR
Don't expect to generate any heat on
here.
if it aint Israel they aint
interested.
JoshFB
Comment No. 508386
April 2
12:25
GBR
Ishouldapologise: "Yes, Mugabe should leave, but it's none
of Britain's
business. We have done enough damage in Africa in our history
already."
I don't think Rosa was proposing that Britain should invade
Zimbabwe, but
rather the international community (not Britain, or even the
west) should
hold Mugabe (not Zimbabwe) to account. The fact that Britain
has an awful
record of colonialism should not be confused with efforts of
the
international community to act
internationally.
Zimbabwe
Comment No. 508389
April 2
12:26
AUS
An Easter Tragedy
-----------------
At the
Magistrate?s Court in Harare, a crowd gathered outside
weeping for men and
women who carry an invisible cross.
Thousands have suffered at the hands
of baton-wielding zealots,
masquerading as Police, in a land where lives have
little price.
Is this commercialism gone mad? Trading in muscle and
limbs
feeding their families with the blood of countrymen and
women?
Who weeps for Mugabe ~ he who styles himself after Jesus
continually
resurrected, who pretends to heave his country away from Colonial
roots?
Why should we cry for a Chinese Palace, wifely shopping sprees in
Paris;
a man protected from his own voters by his army of security
enforcers?
His people no longer believe he leads for them ~ have seen how
he dictates,
feathers his own nest and the cronies he keeps very close ~
walled in by
sin.
How long will millions of starving, beaten people
wait for their turn at
life,
their chance to eat, to sleep peacefully in
a khaya built in prosperity and
peace?
Will the tears shed this
Easter encourage the world to stand up for
Zimbabwe?
Frances
Macaulay Forde ? 2007
SeerTaak
Comment No. 508404
April 2
12:32
GBR
JoshFB:"I don't think Rosa was proposing that Britain should
invade
Zimbabwe, but rather the international community (not Britain, or
even the
west) should hold Mugabe (not Zimbabwe) to account. The fact that
Britain
has an awful record of colonialism should not be confused with
efforts of
the international community to act internationally."
Well
the "international community" either consists of a few dozen former
colonial
powers or nearly 200 assorted Third World kleptocracies. I really
don't see
why Britain, whatever you think about the British colonial record,
will
suddenly become much wiser when working with France and Spain. Either
the
British ought to, or they ought not. The international community can do
nothing unless the First World states put some military muscle behind their
calls anyway.
Ricardinho
Comment No. 508414
April 2
12:36
GBR
Reading laws and inditements at Mugabe will mean diddly
squat. Many of his
policies have been declared illegal by the Zimbabwean
high court already.
It is clear that he has destroyed a functional
country as he becomes
increasingly senile, power-hungry and racist. But it's
a tough question,
asking when intervention in another country's affairs is
justified. Is it
that much worse than Saddam's Iraq, against the invasion of
which 2 million
of us marched through London? The West can't try to 'fix'
every problem
around the world.
9percentGrowth
Comment No.
508415
April 2 12:37
"One of the main problems is that of state
sovereignty"
Indeed. If only all foreigners were content to be ruled by
the British the
world would be a wonderful place.
Alternately the
problem would be solved if only we allowed Mr Mugabe to
issue arrest
warrents against Britsh people he didn't like.
Or, with infinitely more
justice, we enforced warrents issued by by
Yugoslavia against a British PM
clearly guilty of war crimes & almost
certainly also of genocide. Does
anybody seriously suggest that Mugabe is
guilty of more murders than
Bliar?
Ishouldapologise
Comment No. 508418
April 2
12:38
@RosaDavis
So do you support US/UK moves to "clean up the
mess" Britain left in
Zimbabwe. Or do you support the African Unions moves
or what exactly do you
propose? Who would set up this "international
tribunal"?
@JoshFB, I take your point, but RosaDavis did suggest Britain
"clear up it's
own mess".
RosaDavis
Comment No.
508447
April 2 12:50
GBR
Teacup - if you dont think
international law should be used to bring Mugabe
to book, how would you
suggest doing so? I agree that sovereign states
should have independence to
run their own affairs, but where do you draw the
line? With so many starving
in Zimbabwe, with medical care sparse, and with
atrocities rife, at what
point would you step in?
OwenOliver - it is rather refreshing to see a
topic other than Israel
generating any form of discussion on
CIF!
SeerTaak - the international community, as personified in the UN<
is in fact
amde up of all nation states. Furthermore, there are many
influential
countries within the organisation who are not 'western' (India,
Japan,
Brazil, to name but a few).
GaelicMogg - but of course the
brilliance of the ICC is that if an
individual from a non-member state
commits an atrocity against a person from
a member state, they can be
brought in front of the court!
Ricardinho - I couldnt agree more.
However, intervention through warfare is
very different to intervening
through the legal system. Both have their
advantages and disadvantages, but
the method outlined in this article would
ensure a very different outcome
from that in Iraq.
Ishouldapologise - what I mean is that all colonial
powers should take some
responsibility for the chaos in many African
countries, and should be
involved in a process that ensures a swift end to
the atrocities and human
rights violations that are ongoing in many parts of
the continent.
theoldfeller
Comment No. 508451
April 2
12:51
GBR
GaelicMogg
"But of course the exceptional nations,
little and large, are both Israel
and the US, big partners in
crime."
Papertiger, I thought you were banned. What a clever cat you must
be to
sneak in through the back door. So intelligent to see everything in
terms of
Israel, by which we know from your previous posts that you mean the
Jews. A
small minded, ignorant bigot. Or is that your banned alter-ego?
Whilst you
are the dashing, intelligent virile one?
Be careful, we'll
have your blood for our matzos.
RosaDavis
Comment No.
508454
April 2 12:52
GBR
Teacup - if you dont think
international law should be used to bring Mugabe
to book, how would you
suggest doing so? I agree that sovereign states
should have independence to
run their own affairs, but where do you draw the
line? With so many starving
in Zimbabwe, with medical care sparse, and with
atrocities rife, at what
point would you step in?
OwenOliver - it is rather refreshing to see a
topic other than Israel
generating any form of discussion on
CIF!
SeerTaak - the international community, as personified in the UN<
is in fact
amde up of all nation states. Furthermore, there are many
influential
countries within the organisation who are not 'western' (India,
Japan,
Brazil, to name but a few).
GaelicMogg - but of course the
brilliance of the ICC is that if an
individual from a non-member state
commits an atrocity against a person from
a member state, they can be
brought in front of the court!
Ricardinho - I couldnt agree more.
However, intervention through warfare is
very different to intervening
through the legal system. Both have their
advantages and disadvantages, but
the method outlined in this article would
ensure a very different outcome
from that in Iraq.
Ishouldapologise - what I mean is that all colonial
powers should take some
responsibility for the chaos in many African
countries, and should be
involved in a process that ensures a swift end to
the atrocities and human
rights violations that are ongoing in many parts of
the continent.
SeerTaak
Comment No. 508513
April 2
13:08
GBR
RosaDavis:"if you dont think international law should be
used to bring
Mugabe to book, how would you suggest doing so? I agree that
sovereign
states should have independence to run their own affairs, but
where do you
draw the line? With so many starving in Zimbabwe, with medical
care sparse,
and with atrocities rife, at what point would you step
in?"
I don't think that handing authority over to Mugabe's peers is
likely to
achieve much. They are more likely to over throw Blair and Mugabe.
The only
solution is for Britain to do something with the Royal Marines or
more
plausibly, for South Africa to pull the plug.
RosaDavis:"the
international community, as personified in the UN< is in fact
amde up of
all nation states. Furthermore, there are many influential
countries within
the organisation who are not 'western' (India, Japan,
Brazil, to name but a
few)."
I am not sure you read me correctly. The "international community"
usually
has two meanings - either the G8 or some similar body (usually when
it comes
to handing out cash) or the UN for most other matters. If it is the
G8 you
are dealing with, basically, the former colonial powers who are not
industrialised nations. If Britain has no right to do anything, why does
Britain with some other former colonial powers? How is many colonialist
heads better than one? If it is the UN, well, that bunch of kleptocrats will
only vote to keep Mugabe in power - to avoid creating a precedent or out of
anti-White racial solidarity or something. His peers will never get rid of
him because they could be next.
RosaDavis:"but of course the
brilliance of the ICC is that if an individual
from a non-member state
commits an atrocity against a person from a member
state, they can be
brought in front of the court!"
What most people would call an act of
war.
RosaDavis:"Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but the
method
outlined in this article would ensure a very different outcome from
that in
Iraq."
How so? How do you prevent "insurgents" from
insurging?
RosaDavis:"what I mean is that all colonial powers should take
some
responsibility for the chaos in many African countries"
How can
the colonial powers take responsibility for what they are not
responsible
for?
RosaDavis
Comment No. 508620
April 2
13:44
GBR
GaelicMogg - the UK and France have not exercised their veto
for many years.
Why? Presumably because they know they do not have the power
to back up a
radical stance. In terms of the Security Council, an overhaul
of the system
is desperately needed, and has been on the cards for some
time. Further, I
am not sure why you state that Israel has such a veto
unless you are
insinuating that America uses its veto on Israe;'s behalf.
Russia exercised
her veto on behalf of other communist countries, and there
have been
numerous instances of the P5 using their veto power to help their
allies. I
dont think that the Israel/USA relationship within the UN is the
isolated
case that many believe it to be.
In my opinion the influence
of non-western countries is large, especially
considering the economic,
military and trade power of these states.
To answer your question about
Ariel Sharon - I believe the ICC will
eventually be the correct forum to
bring all international criminals to.
This includes leaders who have
committed or ordered atrocities. Whether or
not Sharon will be brought there
is a difficult question as it depends how
far back the ICC is prepared to
look in terms of cases it opens. However, I
am sure many requests will be
sent to the Office of the Prosecutor to open
cases against both Israeli and
Palestinian leaders.
theoldfeller
Comment No. 508624
April
2 13:45
GBR
GaelicMogg
"RosaDavis: You didn't answer my own
question - were you being evasive?"
And you didn't answer
mine.
Midnight at the poisoned well?
blackrock
Comment No.
508628
April 2 13:46
GBR
Ishouldapologise:
"He did what
South Africa is afraid to do so openly: redistribute the land
stolen from
the African people by the conquest of the British colonists
invading under
Rhodes."
.
.
.
Convenient then that it took him two decades
to get round to land
distribution, and only when he was facing the real
danger of losing power.
And this even after we offered to pay for land
redistribution as long as it
was done through the UN and not channeled
through the Zanu-PF.
Sadly there is no morally righteous goal behind his
land redistribution
programme, I wish there was, but in reality it is
cynical and designed to
further the interests of Mugabe and his
supporters.
figliomedio
Comment No. 508713
April 2
14:12
GBR
GaelicMogg
>>>And how influential are these
non-western countries without being able to
>>>wave a veto like
China, Russia, the US and UK, France ... and Israel of
>>>course?
<<<
Israel? Of course! It's your obsession
Next it'll be
the Protocols of the Elders of Matabeleland
Carry on you Irish Pussycat:
Bull-away-o! You're always good for a
laugh.
Ishouldapologise
Comment No. 508714
April 2
14:14
@Blackrock
"Sadly there is no morally righteous goal behind
his land redistribution"
I disagree.
It took Mugabe that long
because he didn't want to alienate a powerful
section of Zimbabwe society,
the whites with links to the metropolis.
Mugabe was under pressure to
carry out land reform from his own people, it
wasn't just a cynical
measure.
The threat from the white population was that if he did carry
out land
reform, then they would pull the plug on the Zimbabwe
economy.
.
They, the settlers, pulled the plug by their brinkmanship. The
British
settlers should have come to an agreement with ZANU earlier and on
better
terms, but they didn't.
.
.
.
They should also be held
reponsible for the economic disaster in Zimbabwe
and not just
Mugabe.
.
Mugabe may be a tyrant, but if he sees Britain and the US
maouvering to oust
him, magnifying the beating of an opposition leader, a
former Mugabe
henchman, into an international, a global event, then he can
justifiably say
that the former colonial power and the new international
hegemonic power are
out to get him and he can present himself as a patriot
and an
anti-imperialist...and he will be right, in a strange
way.
Brazilian
Comment No. 508756
April 2
14:29
GBR
It seems very clear that the removal of Robert Mugabe from
power will depend
on the reversal of his fortunes inside Zimbabwe, since the
African leaders
that could help bring about changes in that
catastrophe-stricken country
don't appear to be sufficiently willing to do
so. What is keeping Mugabe in
power is the backing he still enjoys of his
country's army and police
forces. But it would have seemed that things are
not unlikely to change.
Mugabe recently criticized openly his deputy, Joyce
Mujuru, and her husband,
Solomon Mujuru, who happens to be the former head
of the army, which is said
to be still loyal to him. He fears that these two
powerful Zimbabweans may
be planning a coup.
If anyone were to seek
to prosecute Mugabe, chances are they would do it
outside Africa. More
specifically in Europe. It could be argued that this
might play in Mugabe's
hands, because he built his reputation as an African
revolutionary mainly
through championing the anti-colonial cause. He would
immediately cry foul,
and accuse those intent on bringing about criminal
charges against him of
being Western, which in Mugabe parlance means
'natural enemy'. However,
Solomon Mujuru, who is probably better placed than
anyone else to carry out
the toppling of Robert Mugabe, not only understands
how important it is for
Zimbabwe to restore its reputation in the
international community, but has
also been making his views known to his
countrymen. Furtheremore, business
interests could force Solomon Mujuru and
Emmerson Mnangagwa, the former head
of the secret police, to start
considering working together on an
alternative solution to just wait until
Mugabe dies. Plus, unconfirmed
reports suggest Mr. Mujuru has been holding
talks with Morgan Tsvangirai,
the leader of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change.
Seeking
to prosecute Mugabe would make sense at any point in time, given
that there
is little doubt that he has committed crimes against humanity.
Doing it now,
though, would be the right thing to do in strategic
terms.
theoldfeller
Comment No. 508774
April 2
14:35
GBR
GaelicMogg
"Isn't it intriguing how the Semitic
peoples now circle gleefully around the
developing tragedy in Zimbabwe?
Where were the Semitic hordes when tragic
Rwanda called for international
help over the unfolding genocide of the
Tutsi people? "
By Semitic do
you mean Arabs? Or Arameans? Feeling a little coy today are
we, why not say
what you really mean? And please confirm whether you will
keep our
appointment. Time is moving on, we need a korban
pesach.
nickpheas
Comment No. 508881
April 2
15:14
GBR
Rosa "nickpheas - the ICC is not a 'court in a white
country'. It is a court
designed for the international community as a whole
to prosecute war
criminals and suchlike. Hopefully it will live up to its
mandate as a
representative of all nations."
Just trying to put
myself in his head. You don't honestly think that Mugabe
and his supporters
won't just see the ICC as another means by which the
developed nations try
to interfere in the activities of Africa while failing
to bring their own
war criminals to book to you?
winter7
Comment No.
508938
April 2 15:31
GBR
As a couple of people have pointed
out, Peter Tatchell has attempted a
citizen's arrest on Robret Mugabe. He
has tired this twice, in 1999 and
2001. During one of the attempts he was
severely beaten by Mugabe's
bodyguards.
Tatchell also filed complaints in
both French and British courts in 2003
seeking to have Mugabe tried on
charges of torture, but neither case
succeeded.
I'm surprised that this
wasn't worth a mention in the article.
GrandOldMan
Comment No.
508952
April 2 15:33
GBR
I'm still waiting for GaelicMogg to
explain his totally incomprehensible
opost about "Semitic tribes" and
Madelaine Albright.
Come on GaelicMogg- dont be shy. What did you
mean?
RosaDavis
Comment No. 508978
April 2
15:44
GBR
GaelicMogg -
I'm not sure how we moved on to a
discussion about Israel, but whilst we are
there let me respond to your
post.
You wrote "Ariel, the big slumbering bull-dozer ... is safe from
the ICC.
But I think you knew that Rosa, didn't you? But then again, I think
the war
criminals who scattered cluster bombs over Lebanon sleep soundly in
their
beds as Israeli jets thunder over Gaza, making Palestinian children
wet
their beds. What do you say, Rosa?"
The ICC is an appropriate
forum to deal with the atrocities committed on
both sides of the
Israel/Palestine conflict. Whether it will ever be
utilised for this purpose
is another issue. I am sure that people are
pushing for this to occur. I am
not sure that a legitimate war between
Israel and Lebanon requires criminal
investigation.
riziki
Comment No. 509018
April
2 15:57
GBR
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/cartoon.asp?newsid=95056
theoldfeller
Comment
No. 509039
April 2 16:06
GBR
Oh no! GaelicMogg's been banned.
Coming hard on the heels of the sending off
of CelticTiger this is a
dreadful blow. They'll be indicting Adolf Hitler
for war crimes
next.
A fiver for the first person to spot the creepy cat's next
skin.
Yak40
Comment No. 509079
April 2
16:21
USA
Mugabe's removal will be in one of two ways, death from
natural causes or
death by unnatural causes. I'd say the latter is more
likely right now and
good riddance. He's just another blood soaked terrorist
tho' with more
brains than many of that ilk.
He left the farmmers
alone for twenty years or so because he understood
their contribution to the
country in both local and export terms. He only
turned on them for his own
political advantage when a viable opposition
appeared to be
forming.
The only problem with his departure is that the likely
successors don't look
much better.
As for South Africa, it's starting
down the same slippery slope only it's
being done more quietly. Namibia will
follow, the rumblings have started.
figliomedio
Comment No.
509116
April 2 16:38
GBR
Yak40
>>>> Mugabe's
removal will be in one of two ways, death from natural causes
>>>> or death by unnatural causes <<<
..... or
deleted by Georgina
(The Third Way)
RosaDavis
Comment No.
509201
April 2 17:12
GBR
Yak40 - death is the fate of all
people, and we are all destined to die by
either natural or unnatural
causes. I hope that Mugabe's death is of the
former rather than the latter.
Hopefully his death will occur after he has
been removed from his position
as leader of Zimbabwe.
Yak40
Comment No. 509202
April 2
17:13
USA
..... or deleted by Georgina
OK, I'll bite, who is
Georgina ?
Danny69
Comment No. 509231
April 2
17:24
USA
A prosecution of Mugabe by the ICC may sound an attractive
option but in
practical terms it would be very hard. Firstly, Zimbabwe is
not a state
party to the 1998 Rome Treaty and so the court has no automatic
jurisdiction
in Zimbabwe. In theory, an investigation could be referred to
the
Prosecutor's office by the UN Security Council under chapter 7 of the UN
charter. Given their recent massive investment in African raw materials and
accompanying diplomatic push, it would be highly likely that the Chinese
might veto any investigation.
In any case, the court is empowered to
prosecute genocide, war crimes and
crimes against humanity. I would love to
see Mugabe made accountable but I
think it would be very hard indeed to get
a prosecution under the core
crimes defined by the Rome treaty. It might be
preferable to see him held to
account by a future Zimbabwean government and
independent judiciary - but it
seems unlikely.
Yak40
Comment
No. 509296
April 2 17:50
USA
RosaDavis
Of course we all die
in the end.
In Mugabe's case calling for some International Court won't
work if only
because it'll take years let alone be seen by Africans as more
european
interference.
Regarding Mugabe himself, the sooner his
demise the better as far as I'm
concerned and I could care less about the
cause. To hear what's going on
there versus seeing for myself what it was
once like (under the same ruler)
is both heartbreaking and
enraging.
DrJazz
Comment No. 509300
April 2
17:52
GBR
Ishouldapologise: "It took Mugabe that long because he
didn't want to
alienate a powerful section of Zimbabwe society, the whites
with links to
the metropolis.
Mugabe was under pressure to carry out
land reform from his own people, it
wasn't just a cynical
measure.
The threat from the white population was that if he did carry
out land
reform, then they would pull the plug on the Zimbabwe
economy."
The whites in Zimbabwe had virtually no power in 1997 when
'land reform'
started to take off. Mugabe could have taken the land back and
redistributed
it using his own laws if he had been really determined. He
started the
process, failed to keep to the legal timetable, and then gave up
because he
and his ministers are basically lazy and self-interested. In 1998
he called
an international conference to discuss the land issue. That
conference
agreed to fund a transparent and fair poverty alleviation land
redistribution scheme. Mugabe drew up proposals shortly afterwards, but
didn't follow them up.
Land redistribution to 'landless peasants' is
an economically disastrous
idea and was recognised as such by every educated
Zimbabwean, including
Mugabe. What he needed to do was create alternative
employment for those
landless peasants. He had been instrumental in
providing them with a good
education, but not the jobs he had presumably
educated them for.
The opposition is not being groomed by the UK and US.
The opposition grew
out of the Trade Union movement and the academic
community.
African politicians are lying to you about support for the
MDC. In 2000 the
MDC won approx 50 % of the total vote and almost 50% of
seats in the rigged
parlimentary election. In 2002 they came close to voting
Mugabe out in an
even more rigged presidential election.
They are
lying about Joyce Mujuru too. Why should she be popular? What will
she do?
How would a Zimbabwean know anything about her in a country where
there are
no free media?
And I'm not a Rhodie, embittered or
otherwise.
RosaDavis
Comment No. 509361
April 2
18:19
GBR
Danny69 - if Mugabe has committed any crimes against foreign
nationals then
the ICC can take jurisdiction. Furthermore, I believe the
crimes he has
committed have breached the core crimes that are protected by
Conventions.
Ishouldapologise
Comment No. 509376
April 2
18:25
@Dr Jazz.
You seem suspiciously clear about what Mugabe
should and should not have
done. Suspicious, because, if you are not from
the Southern African region,
my point is, it is really none of your
business.
.
When you say:
"Land redistribution to 'landless
peasants' is an economically disastrous
idea and was recognised as such by
every educated Zimbabwean, including
Mugabe. What he needed to do was create
alternative employment for those
landless peasants."
Really? That
simple is it? I can see the tea pouring out of the nostrils of
a thousand
laughing government officials.
And yes, alliances are being organised by
US/UK as reported in the Guardian.
Representatives and the opposition did
originally come from within ZANU,
trade Union members or not.
Dr.
Jazz, you are overly crisp and confident in your opinions on Zimbabwe
and in
particular on what Mugabe should or should not have done about land
reform.
And what's behind all the problems in Zimbabwe according to
you:
"he [Mugabe]and his ministers are basically lazy and
self-interested"
.
Sounds a teensy bit like someone whose diet has been
unadulterated British
media, and someone who has a few "interesting"
opinions on African
politicians and laziness.
My comment to @Rosa
Davis
The suggestion that Mugabe be taken to the international court is
historical
myopia. We should not take the lead on this and follow the
African Union and
Europe.
Ishouldapologise
Comment No.
509435
April 2 19:01
So?
salofinkelstein
Comment No.
509555
April 2 20:25
The best result is not for Mugabe to be
prosecuted, but to simply bugger
off.
He is a resilient fucker but I
think we could get rid of him by the UN
security council making a resolution
that everyone has to mispronounce his
surname. That really gets under
people's skin.
freshplaza.com, Netherlands
MOUNTING evidence that we are about to suffer another massive
food shortage
and that the costs of importing the shortfall have doubled
invites us to
focus our attention on an undeniable fact : we have never
needed expertise
in the farming sector as much as we need it now. Another
fact is that the
quickest way to start a recovery process that will ease all
of the country's
economic problems will be to rebuild the foundations of
commercial
agriculture.
Currently, Zimbabwe's broader options can be
placed into three categories :
The first is that we carry on as we are now,
trying to make about a million
small-scale farms work successfully against
all the odds. Small farms need
subsidies. Even the brilliantly equipped and
expertly run farms in Europe
need subsidies because farms throughout Europe
are small. Zimbabwe, as a
developing country, cannot afford subsidies, but
subsidies are being paid
anyway. To fund them, Zimbabwe has to borrow or
print most of the money. The
more the government borrows, the larger the
budget deficit and the higher
the inflation rate; the more it prints, the
more vigorously it forces the
already severe inflation to
rise.
Subsidies that rescue farmers from inadequate performance, if not
bankruptcy, also relieve them of the need to improve their operating
techniques. Therefore, subsidies help perpetuate low yields, and this they
do at very high cost. This generates even more inflation. As government
finances become more stretched, budget deficits rise, the shortages become
worse and yet more inflation becomes