The Zimbabwe Situation

Zim Online

Wednesday 21 March 2007

By Batsirai Muranje

HARARE - Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Tuesday expressed
concern over the region's failure to deal with rising violence and assaults
of opposition and civic leaders in Zimbabwe.

Tsvangirai yesterday met South Africa's envoy to Zimbabwe, Professor
Mlungusi Makhalima to express his concern over Pretoria's lukewarm response
over President Robert Mugabe's crackdown on the opposition.

During the hour-long meeting at Tsvangirai's Strathaven home, the Zimbabwe
opposition is said to have told the envoy that Zimbabweans felt "terribly
let down" by their regional neighbours.

"President Tsvangirai frankly told the envoy that Zimbabweans expected
solidarity and support from the region, particularly South Africa, in their
fight against dictatorship and tyranny.

"It was a frank meeting in which the two exchanged fruitful discussions on
the way forward," said an MDC official who spoke on condition he was not
named.

Tsvangirai's spokesperson William Bango confirmed Tsvangirai's meeting with
the South African envoy saying the opposition leader had appraised the envoy
over the deteriorating political situation in the country.

"President Tsvangirai held a meeting with the South African ambassador
during which he expressed grave concern that regional and African leaders
were standing by while these atrocities were being perpetrated by one of
their number," Bango said.

"He said it made a complete mockery of all that South Africa had stood for
since they achieved their own transition to an open and democratic society
in 1994."

Bango said the political situation had deteriorated in Harare's working
class suburbs with government security agents assaulting suspected
opposition supporters.

Political tensions have been rising in Zimbabwe after state security agents
severely tortured Tsvangirai and several other opposition leaders while they
were in police custody last week. - ZimOnline

Mugabe seeks Angola's help to quell protests

Zim Online

Wednesday 21 March 2007

By Brian Ncube

BULAWAYO - At least 2 500 police officers from Angola's crack paramilitary
unit are expected in Zimbabwe on April 1 to help put down growing dissent
against President Robert Mugabe's government, ZimOnline has learnt.

Sources within the intelligence service said told ZimOnline on Tuesday that
the Angolan police officers will be seconded to Zimbabwe under a joint
Public Order and Security Co-operation accord signed between the two
countries last week.

Mugabe is facing an unprecedented challenge to his rule from the main
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party and civic groups which
has resulted in running battles between the police and opposition supporters
over the past month.

Zimbabwe's police force, which once stood at 25 000 officers, has been
severely weakened because of massive desertions by junior officers who are
disgruntled over poor pay and working conditions.

Earlier this month, police chief Augustine Chihuri admitted that the police
were ill-prepared to deal with violent opposition protests with most junior
officers suffering from a dire lack of skills to handle riotous situations.

The sources said the desertions and the police's failure to deal effectively
with opposition protests, had forced the Zimbabwean government to seek help
from their Angolan counterparts.

"The Angolans will come in batches, with the biggest batch of 1 000 details
coming on April 1 with the rest coming in batches of 500 officers until
month-end," said an intelligence source close to the arrangements.

Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi last week met Angola's Minister of the
Interior General Roberto Leal Ramos Monteiro "Ngongo" to discuss the
modalities of the deal.

The sources said Monteiro's visit was meant to give the Angolan minister a
"feel" of the situation on the ground before dispatching the crack
paramilitary unit.

Contacted for comment yesterday, Mohadi confirmed the development but said
the Angolans were coming on a training exchange programme.

"Yes we signed a memorandum of co-operation last Thursday and it is meant to
ensure public order and security for both our peoples and the whole southern
African region at large.

"I cannot say how many of the (Angolan) police details will come here but
they are only coming on an exchange programme that will also see our own
officers going to Angola in the near future.

"We have done that in the past and it is not something new," he said.

Zimbabwe is on political knife-edge as pressure mounts on Mugabe, who is
presiding over a deepening economic crisis that has seen inflation zoom past
1 700 percent amid deepening poverty and unemployment. - ZimOnline

'It is as if we are now under a police state'

Zim Online

Wednesday 21 March 2007

By Taruona Dhewa

HARARE - As darkness slowly envelops Harare's working class suburb of Glen
View, 54-year old Joseph Magaso needs no reminding that it is time to go
home.

With last week's scary political events in the suburb still etched onto his
mind, a subdued Magaso takes a quick walk back home after a few drinks at
the local bar.

The streets are virtually empty. All the children appear to be indoors. It
is as if a heavy storm is gathering on the horizon.

Magaso is quite aware of frightening tales that are awash in Harare of
soldiers randomly assaulting people in the city's working class suburbs, the
bedrock of opposition support.

Magaso himself was at the receiving end of state violence at the hands of
suspected soldiers last week.

"A group of soldiers just pounced on us at the local bar and started beating
us up accusing us of lying about economic hardships when we could still
afford to buy a few beers," Magaso told ZimOnline.

There have been several other reports in Harare of soldiers terrorising
residents whom they accuse of heeding calls to protest on the streets by the
main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party.

In the eastern suburb of Mabvuku, John Murape, said he was also beaten up by
red-bereted soldiers while on his way to a football match in Harare.

"You really wonder whether venturing out of home on its own is now a crime.
They made us lie down on the tarmac all the while kicking us with booted
feet," said Murape, who sustained some bruises all over his body as a result
of the attack.

A church pastor in Glen View, Reverend Gibson Pawari, said he has had to
cancel evening prayer meetings after some members of his congregation were
"interrogated" by a group of men in army uniform.

The suspected soldiers wanted to know why the church members "were walking
at night" in such a large group.

"There is fear all over, it's now so pervasive that you never know whether
congregation members have arrived home safely even if the home is a few
hundred metres from the church," Pawari said.

Zimbabwe's seven-year old political crisis reached boiling point last week
following the arrest and brutal torture of opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai and several of his party's senior officials while in police
custody.

Tsvangirai was arrested in Highfield on his way to a banned prayer rally at
Zimbabwe Grounds in the suburb.

Images of a bruised Tsvangirai and several other opposition leaders who were
tortured while in police custody drew international outrage with the United
States and Britain being at the forefront in condemning Mugabe.

A defiant Mugabe later told Western critics of his rule to "go hang" in
remarks observers said indicated the veteran Zimbabwean leader would take
his own battle for political survival to the wire.

Harare residents say Mugabe has already unleashed his trusted soldiers in
urban areas to harass and terrorise residents amid fears that the veteran
Zimbabwean leader was contemplating declaring a state of emergency to
protect his rule.

The MDC has however vowed to press ahead with plans to mobilise Zimbabweans
to confront Mugabe on the streets to force him to embrace political reforms
and restore democracy.

Residents say the army is moving quickly to disperse any small groups in
Harare under an operation codenamed, Operation Famba Wega (Move alone).

The residents said it was now as if they were living under a curfew with
most bars and shops shutting down around 6pm.

"Everywhere you go, one has the feeling that we are now under a police
state. We are not under a civilian government anymore," said Ephraim Kupeta,
an opposition supporter who took part in last week's violent protests in
Highfield.

Prospects for a peaceful transition to democracy appear bleak.

John Makumbe, a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe said the country was
headed towards a "bloody 2008" if Mugabe decides to hold the presidential
election as scheduled next year.

"We are likely to see the bloodiest ever election in Zimbabwe characterised
by sporadic violence throughout the country," said Makumbe.

Last weekend, Mugabe set the tone for a bloody presidential election telling
the youth wing of his ruling ZANU PF party that he would again "bash" MDC
supporters who defied the government ban on rallies.

"If you want to have a few drinks, it would be wise to do so in the safety
of your home. Otherwise, we will simply bash your head," said a junior
police officer in Harare, obviously taking a cue from his political
master. - ZimOnline

US says it is unfazed by Harare's threats

Zim Online

Wednesday 21 March 2007

By Patricia Mpofu

HARARE - The United States (US) on Tuesday said it will continue supporting
the people of Zimbabwe in their quest for democratic governance despite
warnings by Harare to stop interfering in Zimbabwe's internal affairs.

In a statement released to the media yesterday, the US State Department said
it will not be cowed by Harare's threats to expel diplomats who speak out
against the Zimbabwe government.

"The United States will continue to speak and act steadfastly in support of
the people of Zimbabwe's right to democracy," read part of statement which
was attributed to the Office of the US spokesman in Washington.

On Monday, Zimbabwe's foreign affairs minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi
threatened to expel Western diplomats who interfered in the country's
internal political affairs.

Mumbengegwi said Western diplomats based in Harare had publicly supported
the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party in violation
of international protocols governing the conduct of diplomats.

The US also confirmed that Ambassador Christopher Dell had walked out of the
meeting in Harare after the government failed to provide assurances that the
diplomats would get an opportunity to respond on the matter.

"When the Ambassador did not receive these assurances, he departed refusing
to participate in the government's attempt to justify its recent brutality,"
read the statement.

The Zimbabwe government has publicly criticised the US and British envoys
for lending moral support to Morgan Tsvangirai and several other opposition
officials following their brutal torture while in police custody last
week. - ZimOnline

Striking workers burn sugar crop

Zim Online

Wednesday 21 March 2007

By Regerai Marwezu

MASVINGO - Striking workers at Hippo Valley and Triangle sugar estates in
the southern Chiredzi district on Tuesday set on fire 45 hectares of sugar
cane demanding a 600 percent rise on their salaries.

The workers last Thursday set on fire another 52 hectares of sugar cane
after management refused to award them the salary hike which would see the
lowest paid worker earning Z$300 000, up from the Z$50 000 they are
currently taking home.

Sources at Hippo Valley and Triangle say a group of the striking workers
went and set ablaze the sugar cane fields at around 3am on Tuesday.

The workers, led by Admore Hwarare of the government-linked Zimbabwe
Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU), had given management until Monday to
resolve the dispute.

"It is true that the workers set ablaze the sugar cane. They want their
salaries increased but it appears management is reluctant to award them any
meaningful increments," said Hwarare.

Hwarare denied that he had instigated the workers to burn the sugar cane
crop only saying workers had a right to withdraw their labour event of a
deadlock with their employers.

"No one instigated workers to engage in this act," said Hwarare.

Hippo Valley managing director Sydney Mutsambiwa said the sugar cane crop
was a complete write off.

"The burnt crop is a complete write off. We are very worried over the latest
development," said Mutsambiwa.

Police in Chiredzi said they were investigating the arson attack.

"This is an act of arson and we are investigating the whole issue so that
those responsible are brought to book," said Masvingo provincial spokesman
Inspector Phibion Nyambo.

Zimbabwe has been facing a severe shortage of sugar over the past few years
after new black farmers allocated land under President Mugabe's land reforms
failed to maintain production on former white farms.

The torching of the sugar estates will likely worsen the shortage of sugar
across the country. - ZimOnline

Students fail to get exam results

Zim Online

Wednesday 21 March 2007

By Justin Muponda

HARARE - Hundreds of Zimbabwean students who sat for the 2006 Ordinary Level
final examinations have failed to get their results with most students
receiving just blank examination slips, ZimOnline has learnt.

In a clear sign of the chaos rocking Zimbabwe's education sector, hundreds
of students were this week being referred to the Ministry of Education
offices for an explanation over the matter.

"Nearly half of my friends in our class had blank examination slips and we
were told to go to the Ministry of Education," said a student at Harare high
school.

Several other students from schools in Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare also
confirmed that they had failed to receive their results.

Education Minister Aeneas Chigwedere could not be reached for comment on the
matter.

The 'O' Level examinations were thrown into chaos late last year after
teachers refused to mark examination papers citing poor remuneration. The
government was offering Z$500 for each script, a figure rejected by the
teachers as pittance.

"I am not surprised at all because the whole process was thrown into
confusion from the beginning when markers said they would not participate in
the marking of the papers if the payment was not revised," said Edith
Mahere, a Mutare-based teacher, who was one of the markers.

"The other problem is that there was no moderation of the markers because
the Ministry (of Education) said we had to get the results as fast as
possible because parents were accusing them of bungling," she added.

Zimbabwe's education, once revered as the best on the African continent is
falling fast, in tandem with a deep political and economic crisis, which is
blamed on President Robert Mugabe's policies.

Lack of state funding has seen most government schools operating on
shoestring budgets, compromising the quality of education, while trained
teachers have left the country seek better paying jobs in neighbouring
countries. - ZimOnline

Opposition in Zimbabwe Mounts, Says U.S. Diplomat

New York Times

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 21, 2007
JOHANNESBURG, March 20 (AP) - The American ambassador to Zimbabwe said
Tuesday that opposition to President Robert G. Mugabe had reached a tipping
point because the people no longer feared the government and believed that
they had nothing left to lose.

Zimbabwe's government and ruling party are in disarray and can no longer
govern effectively, Ambassador Christopher Dell said in an interview.
Growing numbers within the government and the ruling party, known as
ZANU-PF, also want Mr. Mugabe to step down, he said.

Mr. Dell emphasized that he was not advocating or predicting a violent
overthrow of the government, but noted that there was disaffection within
the military and a split in the security forces. The economy is in free fall
and the people believe that the government is taking away their last hope,
he said.

"The key new element in the equation that has become obvious over the past
10 to 12 days is the new spirit of resistance - some would say defiance - on
the part of the people," the ambassador said.

"The people have lost their willingness to go on; they are losing their
fear," he added. "They believe they have nothing left to lose."

Mr. Mugabe's government has come under increasing international criticism
for its treatment of the opposition, with activists contending that the
police have disrupted their gatherings and beaten their leaders. The
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was among those assaulted on March 11,
when the police broke up what his supporters said was a prayer meeting.

The Movement for Democratic Change, led by Mr. Tsvangirai, reported new
abuses on Tuesday, saying 35 of its supporters were hospitalized from
beatings by ruling party youths and state agents patrolling townships in
unmarked vehicles.

"We have urged other African governments to speak out more strongly, and
some of them have," Mr. Dell said. "The one thing you will notice is none of
them are speaking up in Mugabe's defense anymore. There is a kind of
embarrassed silence in the region now."

South Africa issued its strongest criticism of Zimbabwe to date on Tuesday,
but said it would stick to its policy of quiet diplomacy because open
criticism had yielded no results.

"The beating and violence against any citizens of Zimbabwe is obviously
unacceptable to us as a government," said Themba Maseko, a South African
government spokesman.

In Zimbabwe, Mr. Tsvangirai met with South Africa's ambassador on Tuesday to
protest the silence of African leaders.

Mr. Tsvangirai said the silence made a "complete mockery" of South Africa's
abolition of apartheid and its transition to democracy, the opposition said
in a statement.

President Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia, who will take over the presidency of the
13-nation Southern African Development Community in August, said Tuesday
that he hoped the bloc would develop a common stance on the crisis in the
coming days.

Mr. Dell said the violence directed against Zimbabweans by the government
was causing a split in the security forces, adding that rank-and-file police
officers were increasingly reluctant to carry out such attacks.

He said the police themselves were telling leaders of the opposition who
were arrested and beaten while in custody that the attacks had been carried
out by Mr. Mugabe's secret police and the Green Bombers, the ruling party's
militant youth militia.

"Police are trying to distance themselves from the repression," Mr. Dell
said. "Police officers feel insecure. We are told some are afraid to wear
their uniforms back and forth to work." He noted that most police officers
lived in the poor, high-density suburbs of Harare, the capital, and were
afraid of reprisals from their neighbors.

Mr. Mugabe, he said, has always ruled with a combination of repression and
patronage. But with a collapsing economy, he can no longer provide adequate
patronage. Mr. Dell said a regular police officer made only about $20 a
month and is also suffering from the economic woes.

In the past eight weeks, the Zimbabwe dollar has fallen to 20,000 from 5,000
to the American dollar on the black market, he said.

Tensions within ZANU-PF are rising, Mr. Dell added, largely because of the
impending succession question. Mr. Mugabe, 83, has indicated that he might
run for another term next year, but many in the party want him to step down
now, and there is fighting over who will succeed him, Mr. Dell said.

The politics of impotent hand-wringing

Simon Hoggart
Wednesday March 21, 2007
The Guardian

Zimbabwe is landlocked, so there wouldn't be much point in sending a
gunboat. But you do feel that past British governments would have at least
done something tough and resourceful. When Ian Smith issued a Unilateral
Declaration of Independence, we responded with lightning speed. Now the
situation in that wretched country is unimaginably worse than ever before,
we are deploying the politics of hand-wringing.
Mrs Beckett, the foreign secretary, produced a wide range of answers to a
pile of questions. All of them amounted to "there is nothing we can do".

She said that the British government was "pressing" President Mugabe to
"reverse course".
Not much chance of that on previous form. Tory MPs wanted the government to
"do something effective to make Mugabe's regime come to an end". They seemed
less willing to say what that something effective might be.

Mrs Beckett replied that there was "considerable concern". The UK also had
"great concerns", as did most international organisations, who were very
concerned indeed. The British would "keep up the pressure".

Andrew Robathan wanted to know if Mugabe had been relieved of his honorary
knighthood. Mrs Beckett felt this was a very minor issue. "We do do
everything we can." (Apparently he still is "Sir" Robert, which might not
matter to you but is of much concern to all those Tory knights who do not
wish to belong to the same club as the appalling, bloodstained old tyrant.)

Labour MPs joined in. "We must draw attention internationally," said David
Winnick. Mrs Beckett agreed. We would continue to "focus attention". There
was no way Britain could "wave a magic wand". Of course we were not ducking
the problem. "We are endeavouring to get a head of steam behind a discussion
in the UN human rights council."

Michael Ancram wanted to know why, when we were faced with ethnic cleansing,
murder, tyranny and oppression in the Balkans, we did something. Now we were
walking by on the other side. I can only assume he meant that we should send
a military force - helicopter gunship diplomacy.

Mrs Beckett said Britain must not be seen to be "leading" since "that would
be misconstrued". We were doing everything we could "to promote reform and
genuine democratic dialogue".

So there we had it. Britain was "exerting pressure", "expressing concern",
"focusing discussion", "promoting reform," and "getting up a head of steam".
But not actually doing anything.

I suppose short of launching a mini-Iraq in southern Africa there is not a
lot we can do. But as a display of national impotence it was, I fear,
pitiable.

By contrast, the debate on slavery that followed - to mark the 200th
anniversary of the ban on the African slave trade - was heartening. In those
days we could do something positive about oppression and evil - especially
when much of it had been carried out by us.

Rule by Iron Bar

Washington Post

Robert Mugabe tries beating his opponents into submission.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007; Page A14

IN RECENT years it seemed no outrage by Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe
was enough to inspire a rebellion by his political cronies or effective
intervention by outsiders. The 83-year-old president destroyed the country's
once relatively prosperous economy, stole multiple elections and cruelly
drove hundreds of thousands of slum dwellers from their homes. Still his
once proud ZANU-PF party, which led Zimbabwe to independence, stayed with
him, while fellow African leaders shrank from confronting him.

Now Mr. Mugabe is once again testing -- or shaming -- those who have chosen
to endure him for so long, at such cost to Zimbabwe. Last week, newspapers
published an interview in which the president suggested that next year he
would seek another six-year extension of his term. Then his police brutally
attacked an opposition prayer meeting, beating and arresting 50 leaders.

Morgan Tsvangirai, the head of the Movement for Democratic Change, was
hospitalized with a suspected skull fracture. Released last Friday, he said
he had suffered "an orgy of heavy beatings" while in custody. Other
activists had their arms broken; one was carried out of jail on a stretcher.
Over the weekend the violence continued, as the regime forcibly prevented
opposition leaders from leaving the country. One, Nelson Chamisa, was
stopped on his way to the airport and beaten with iron bars.

The crackdown has drawn condemnations from the United States and the
European Union, which long ago sanctioned Zimbabwe. More important, it
prompted at least a modest reaction from the African leaders who until now
have given Mr. Mugabe a pass. African Union Chairman John Kufuor of Ghana
said that A.U. governments found the situation "very uncomfortable" and
"embarrassing." South Africa, which has stubbornly stuck to a failed policy
of "quiet diplomacy," yesterday warned Mr. Mugabe against declaring a state
of emergency and said its "primary worry" was "abuse of human rights."

Mr. Mugabe has responded by threatening more violence. "They will get
arrested and get bashed by the police," he said of the opposition. The West,
he said, could "get hanged"; its ambassadors have been threatened with
expulsion. Such words ought to force both his countrymen and his neighbors
to realize they can no longer afford to allow Mr. Mugabe to go on destroying
his own country. As Mr. Tsvangirai put it in an interview with The Post's
Craig Timberg, "Unless they are prepared to stand up to Mugabe, this man is
prepared to burn down the building."

How African leaders appease Robert Mugabe
Democracy Inaction

The New Republic

by Joshua Kurlantzick
Only at TNR Online | Post date 03.21.07

At its July 2001 summit, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), a group
once known for meetings where thuggish African dictators gathered
essentially to congratulate themselves on staying in power, struck a bold
new note. On a continent that in the 1990s had witnessed waves of
democratization and the end of apartheid, Africa's young generation of
leaders made their break from the past. They announced The New Partnership
for Africa's Development (NEPAD), a vision of progress in which fighting
corruption, empowering average people, and ruling justly would be critical.
For African nations in the future, NEPAD's charter announced, "Good
governance [is] a basic requirement for peace, security and sustainable
political and socio-economic development."

One of the driving forces behind NEPAD, South African President Thabo Mbeki,
made clear that the leader of Africa's most powerful nation also would no
longer tolerate the brutality and human rights abuses of the past. Mbeki
helped negotiate peace deals to end the civil wars in Congo, Burundi, and
Liberia. He traveled the continent preaching the virtues of democracy. His
words seemed to have an effect--when a coup overthrew the elected government
of tiny Togo, the African Union, successor to the OAU, condemned the coup
plotters. Other new African leaders, like Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo and
Uganda's Yoweri Museveni made similar pledges to negotiate peace on behalf
of warring groups in other countries and push for better governance.

But when it comes to one of the region's most brutal dictatorships, this new
Africa is nowhere to be found. Over the past two weeks in Zimbabwe, the
regime of Robert Mugabe has cracked the skull of Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and beat up another member
of the opposition, putting him in critical condition. Mugabe has pledged to
remain in power until he is 100--he is currently 83--and has driven the
Zimbabwean economy into the worst hyperinflation in the world while also
burning down the homes of thousands of urban dwellers. A nation once
regarded as the breadbasket of southern Africa now faces widespread famine.
As James Kirchick recently argued in TNR Online, Mugabe's terror may even
constitute genocide, since he has deliberately organized mass murder against
his opponents. All the while, alas, Africa's new democrats say virtually
nothing.

The crisis in Zimbabwe has been building since 2000, when Mugabe essentially
lost a referendum on his rule and struck out first at a small minority of
white farmers and then at the MDC and its urban supporters. But for several
years, much of the Western press attention--including in >The New
Republic--focused on the plight of the white farmers. Their situation was
indeed dire, and several were killed, but today many of the white farmers
already have fled Zimbabwe, and the brunt of Mugabe's wrath has focused on
the MDC and anyone else who dares to question him, including the urban
middle class and people from minority tribes historically hostile to him and
his ethnic group, the Shona.

Since late February, the crisis in Zimbabwe seems to be approaching a peak.
Perhaps because Mugabe faces renewed pressure from people in his own party
and the MDC, which had been weakened in recent years, he appears to have
decided to crack down harder. (Some news reports suggest that Mugabe even
fears a coup from dissatisfied elements of his security forces.) Besides the
beating administered to Tsvangirai, Mugabe recently prevented four other MDC
members from leaving the country, and his security forces shot live bullets
at an opposition demonstration on March 11. Police reportedly have been
administering random beatings to people across the slums of Harare, the
capital.

Other African states could wield leverage over Mugabe. South Africa now
holds the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council, the
biggest bully pulpit. Zimbabwe's economy has become highly dependent on fuel
and other types of aid from Pretoria, as well as cross-border trade with and
remittances from South Africa, where as many as one million Zimbabweans have
fled over the past several years since Mugabe's brutality increased.

But neither Mbeki nor many other African leaders have stepped up. As Mugabe
has fixed a series of elections in recent years, South African observers
have blessed these rigged polls. Over the past two weeks, the South African
foreign ministry issued a mealy-mouthed statement asking Mugabe to respect
the rule of law and to push for "a lasting solution to the current
challenges faced by the people of Zimbabwe." Mbeki himself remained silent.
As reporters noted, Mbeki's weekly African National Congress (ANC)
newsletter prodded South Africans to address the continuing scourge of
racism in their own country and made no mention of Mugabe. The ANC even
called the Mugabe crackdown "alleged" despite television footage of
Zimbabwean thugs beating opposition activists. The African Union, meanwhile,
criticized Mugabe's treatment of the MDC but did little else, simply calling
for a "constructive dialogue" in Zimbabwe. Ghana's president, another
supposed new African leader who also currently chairs the AU, told the
press, "Please don't think that Africa is not concerned. Africa is very much
concerned. What can Mbeki as a man do?"

"We Africans should hang our heads in shame," Archbishop Desmond Tutu
announced this week. "How can what is happening in Zimbabwe elicit hardly a
word of concern let alone condemnation from us leaders of Africa?" Tutu went
on. "Do we really care about human rights, do we care that people of flesh
and blood, fellow Africans, are being treated like rubbish, almost worse
than they were ever treated by rabid racists?"

hy have so many new African democrats refused to criticize Mugabe? Some
still remember Mugabe's role as a valiant fighter against white rule in
then-Rhodesia and are reluctant to criticize this old lion. This is
particularly true for Mbeki, a technocrat whose (wise) neoliberal economic
policies have strengthened South Africa's fiscal situation but left him open
to attack for betraying poor black South Africans, some of whom may have a
quiet respect for Mugabe.

Or the answer is worse. By refusing to question Mugabe's vote rigging and
intimidation, these new African democrats may believe they can insulate
themselves from similar treatment. After all, so many of these new leaders
have fallen far short of their promises. Nigeria's Obasanjo tried to rewrite
his nation's constitution to obtain another term in office. Uganda's
Museveni continues to fix the political process in order to stay in power.
Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi, another supposed new leader, has turned
increasingly authoritarian. Little wonder, then, that Mugabe remains
confident.

Joshua Kurlantzick is a special correspondent for The New Republic

Consensus among S. African nations building against Mugabe

New Zealand Herald

12:20PM Wednesday March 21, 2007
By Sophie Walker
CANBERRA/LONDON - Consensus is building among southern African nations of
the need for tougher action against the government of Zimbabwe's strongman,
Robert Mugabe, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today.

Downer pressed South Africa's ambassador yesterday over his government's
muted criticism of Mugabe ahead of a meeting next week of southern African
foreign ministers. Australian envoys in Africa had also been engaged in
intensive lobbying.

"My takeout from the diplomatic representations we've made around southern
Africa over the last week or so is that there is a very significant increase
in the degree of concern," Downer told Australian radio.

Canberra, which four years ago led moves to suspend Zimbabwe from the
53-nation Commonwealth following the country's flawed presidential
elections, last week demanded African countries support tougher sanctions
against Harare.

Downer singled out South Africa for its reluctance to use its economic and
political influence to pressure Mugabe for democratic change.

Western powers vowed to keep up pressure on Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe despite threats to expel their diplomats if they continue to
criticise his government.
Both Britain and the United States have called for more sanctions against
Mugabe's government because of what they say was a violent crackdown on
opposition leaders and the severe economic crisis they blame on state
mismanagement.

Zimbabwe Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi yesterday warned
Western envoys in Harare the government would not hesitate to expel those
who backed opposition politics.

Zimbabwe officials have not said which countries could be targeted for
expulsion but they are thought to include former colonial ruler Britain, the
United States, Australia and Sweden.

"Such threats will not deter the UK from speaking out against the continued
misgovernance and human rights abuses in Zimbabwe," a Foreign Office
official told Reuters.

"It's a tragic, unfortunate situation and it's just terrible to watch, most
especially because it's the Zimbabwean people that are suffering as a
result," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said of the situation
in the country.

Mugabe last week told his Western critics "to go hang" and ordered
Mumbengegwi to "read the riot act" to Western envoys.

Police arrested main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and 49 others on
March 11, accusing them of holding an illegal rally. Tsvangirai and several
others later received hospital treatment -- they said they had been beaten
and tortured in custody.

"With the international community, we are pressing (Mugabe) to reverse
course and end human rights abuses and political violence," said Foreign
Secretary Margaret Beckett.

EXTEND SANCTIONS

The European Union has renewed a range of sanctions including an arms
embargo, travel ban and asset freeze on Mugabe and other government
officials. Western governments, including the 27-nation EU, deny they are
meddling in Zimbabwean politics.

The EU's executive has allocated nearly 3 million euros ($5.7 million) for
projects in Zimbabwe which support local democracy, human rights defenders
and media monitoring.

"We do not support the opposition as such but (help) so that the opposition
and the civil society can express themselves freely," European Commission
aid spokesman Amadeu Altafaj said.

Beckett told parliament on Tuesday that Britain was "endeavouring to get a
head of steam" behind its call for urgent action by the human rights council
at the United Nations.

Britain was also trying to persuade EU colleagues to extend sanctions
against Zimbabwe and has demanded direct action against those responsible
for Tsvangirai's injuries.

Zimbabwe has been relying on food aid from UN agencies and Western powers
for the last six years as a result of a sharp drop in agricultural
production that critics blame on Mugabe's seizures of white-owned farms for
distribution to blacks.

Once southern Africa's bread basket, the country is struggling with
inflation of more than 1,700 per cent, frequent food and fuel shortages and
unemployment of about 80 per cent.

US ambassador Christopher Dell walked out of the meeting with Zimbabwe's
foreign minister yesterday "refusing to participate in the government's
attempt to justify its recent brutality". State department spokesman
McCormack said Dell was in London on Tuesday, but would return to Harare
soon.

(Additional reporting by Cris Chinaka and MacDonald Dzirutwe in Harare,
Ingrid Melander in Brussels and Sue Pleming in Washington)

- REUTERS

Force, not diplomacy, answer to Mugabe

East African Standard

Letters

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

The unfolding events in Zimbabwe have put Africa in the dock.

What can the continent lay claim to, when the economic and democratic gains
its founding fathers made have been shamed? While other continents grapple
with economic wars, African leaders epitomise tyranny and dictatorship.

After Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's land reforms, what has been left of
the once prosperous nation is a country with dilapidated infrastructure,
poverty, famine, unemployment and 1,700 per cent inflation.

Land was expropriated from the whites and given to the blacks, who lack
capital, skills and manpower to make productive ventures. Mugabe made
investors lose interest in the country, resulting in the weakening of the
economy.

Having risen to power in 1980, Mugabe exhibits tyranny and injustice in
their worst form. His government has suppressed the opposition and other
voices of reason.

At 83 years, Mugabe still contemplates seeking another term in office if the
ruling party ZANU-PF asks him to in 2008! Even with international
condemnation, Mugabe remains adamant and unperturbed, threatening Western
envoys and asking those dissatisfied to quit.

Imposing economic sanctions on the country is not enough. Efforts must be
geared to forcing Mugabe out of power. Diplomacy has failed before and will
do so again.

Clifton Mulegi,

KIMC

The Sketch: The world's terrible and Mrs Beckett is concerned

Independent, UK

Simon Carr
Published: 21 March 2007

"How was Mrs Beckett?" a colleague asked. He'd missed Foreign Office

questions. "I'm worried about her," I had to say. "She's very concerned."
The world is, in truth, a terrible place.

Iran, for instance. Is there are any hope for peace in the Middle East, she
was asked, unless Iran is thwarted in her nuclear ambitions? She said she
was concerned. She was brave about it.

The question drifted, as these things do, to Iraq, and the supply of arms to
terror groups there and across the Middle East. Mrs Beckett was forced to
concede the point. "There are indications of concern," she said.

How about the BBC journalist who's been kidnapped in the Lebanon and has
been missing for eight days? She assured the House from her heart that the
case had been discussed. And that a kidnapping like this was, in effect,
counter-productive. "It does nothing to help."

Jeremy Corbyn asked what actual pressure she was applying on illegal Israeli
settlements. Mrs Beckett replied: dialogue. And it wasn't just a one-off
thing: "We continue to have dialogue." But in concrete terms, were there any
other steps, or pressure, or developments, Mark Harper asked? Specifically?
"We share the view the moment has potential," she replied.

Zimbabwe. Had she heard the rumours Angolan troops were being drafted in to
prop up Mugabe's decaying regime? "I have heard the rumours," our Foreign
Secretary said. "It is one of the concerns we are pursuing."

Actually, that's not quite right, now I look at my notes. "It is among the
concerns we are pursuing."

Philip Hollobone said Mugabe's was an evil, violent and despotic regime
where life expectancy had fallen to 38 and the country was crying out. What
effective action was to be taken?

Mrs Beckett expressed concern. "There is considerable concern," she said.
"The UK has great concerns," she went on. But what about feelings across the
Channel? "The concerns are shared by the European Union and by the
international community." What were they doing about it? They were
expressing concerns about human rights. And as for the pressure caused by
our international concern? It would be "kept up". That may have been an
aspiration rather than a commitment, it wasn't clear.

David Winnick described Mugabe as "an outright gangster hanging on to power"
supported by South Africa. Mrs Beckett reassured him that discussions "were
continuing" and that discussion "has been focused on the situation" and that
the objective was "to take discussions forward".

Michael Ancram asked why the Government invaded the Balkans but ignores the
mayhem in Zimbabwe. Mrs Beckett said it was a fine line. You could tell she
was concerned.

Kate Hoey talked about the "measly words" of the South African government
and their failure to do anything to embarrass Mugabe. "I am aware of the
stance she correctly identifies," Mrs Beckett told us. And would we do
anything? Through the G8? "It is likely some discussion will continue," she
replied. She seemed a little less concerned. I think she'll be all right.

simoncarr@ sketch.sc

Exiled Zimbabweans grateful to SAfrica, yearn for return home

France24

21/03/07 05h51 GMT+1

AFP News brief

by Florence Panoussian

Roy Bennett is grateful to South Africa for supplying him with a safe haven
but his heart still remains firmly entrenched across the northern border in
his native Zimbabwe.

"People are here because of the situation in Zimbabwe and as soon as they'll
get an opportunity to go home, they will go home," says the former Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) lawmaker from his temporary home in
Johannesburg.

Bennett, the main Zimbabwean opposition party's treasurer, is one of up to
three million people who have crossed south across the Limpopo river amid
the economic and political meltdown in the one-time breadbasket of southern
Africa.

With inflation now standing at 1,730 percent, around 80 percent unemployed
and MDC activists now being assaulted with apparent impunity by the Mugabe
security forces, there is little reason for a rapid return.

Pretoria may still remain reluctant to criticise veteran President Robert
Mugabe, leader of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, but South Africa is
paying a heavy price for the crisis in Harare.

While thousands are caught by border guards and deported each month, many
more do make it across and try and make ends meet as best they can.

Forty-three-year-old Absolom Nhoro, who used to be a teacher in Zimbabwe, is
now reduced to running adult education lessons in return for food and
shelter at a church in Johannesburg after falling foul of the government.

He says he was forced to flee after being badly beaten up in 2005 by
followers of Mugabe's ZANU-PF party who believed that he was turning his
charges against the government.

"They bashed me against a wall and then against the ground. I think they
left me for dead," he said.

"ZANU-PF people think that teachers are educating people against Mugabe and
his regime."

Nhoro has since been staying at the headquarters of the Central Methodist
Church in downtown Johannesburg along with around 700 refugees, among them
more and more Zimbabweans.

That was two years ago. When these men returned, he fled leaving behind his
wife and two children who was expecting a third.

"I am frightened for them. If only at least I could have a proper place here
for them to come. Sometimes they came to visit me (next to the border, about
600 kilometers, 370 miles from Johannesburg), but the last time was in
December," says Nhoro.

"Now it is more and more difficult for my wife to get the money to come. She
was pregnant when I left so I don't see my only little girl growing up."

Paul Veryn, the local Methodist bishop, says the Zimbabweans seeking refuge
in his church have more than doubled in the last year with up to 15 new
arrivals each day.

"At night here, it is crowded with about 700 people sleeping around in the
lobby and on the stairs. It is full," he says.

"We don't give them fantastic help, but it is a safe place to sleep and we
give them a little food. A lot of people who come here are sick, a lot with
HIV.

"In the last two years, there has been an escalation in the pain of the
Zimbabweans ... Some of them don't even wait for the Mugabe militia or the
military to come, they just leave because they think that if they are
caught, they'll die."

The sense of bitterness among the refugees is profound. Despite being
grateful towards South Africa for providing them some respite, they are also
angry that the government of Thabo Mbeki has limited its reaction to less
than searing calls for Mugabe to respect the rights of all Zimbabweans.

At a rally outside the Zimbabwe consulate in Johannesburg last week, exiles
carried banners reading: "We want to go back. Africa help us remove Mugabe."

South Africa-based Mugabe opponents have even produced a pack of cards of
the Zimbabwean in an echo of the famous "most wanted" stunt dreamt up by the
US forces in 2003 while hunting Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

Mugabe, who is both the ace of spades and ace of hearts, is depicted on a
throne surrounded by bags of booty while his young wife Grace, the queen of
hearts, is weighed down with shopping from the boutiques of New York and
Paris.

Bennett, one of those who took part in the rally outside the consulate, was
jailed in 2004 for flooring a government minister during a heated
parliamentary debate and then fled the country in 2006 over safety fears.

The former farmer, whose land was seized by the Mugabe regime, is currently
seeking asylum status in South Africa but he does not want to make the move
from his roots permanent even if much of what he had in Zimbabwe has now
gone.

"Everything I had was taken, not just my land, but also my home, my cattle,
my tractors, my coffee, they left me with nothing. We literally arrived in
SA only with what we had in our suitcases," he said.

"Home is home and as soon as things are sorted out, I am going home."

Interview: US Ambassador Christopher Dell

SW Radio Africa's Violet Gonda talks with United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell in an interview for the Hot Seat programme:

Last updated: 03/21/2007 11:38:16
Broadcast on Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Violet Gonda: My guest on the programme ‘Hot Seat’ today is Christopher Dell, the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe. Ambassador Dell, welcome on the programme Hot Seat

Ambassador Dell: Thank-you Violet, it’s a pleasure to be able to talk with you.

Violet: Thank you. Now, Opposition, Civic Leaders and activists are under attack in Zimbabwe, what’s your perception of the current political situation in the country?

Ambassador Dell: Well, I think it’s quite striking how the country has changed in the last week. The mood is much more tense than it was, people have demonstrated admirable resolve in the face of a brutal crack-down and I think it’s fair to say that, for the first time in a long time, momentum has really shifted to the Opposition and away from the Government which has now been forced on to it’s back leg in responding to events.

Violet: Would you say extra-ordinary and unsafe conditions exist in Zimbabwe right now?

Ambassador Dell: Um, well that’s a bit of a sweeping statement. You know, it’s quite striking while we understand the police are going through neighbourhoods in the High Density areas and in any place they see more than two people together they’re attacking them with rubber truncheons etcetera. Friday evening last I was in Avondale, the Italian Bakery was full of people, hundreds of people were gathered and no sign of a police presence. So, this is very selective; targeting obviously the areas where they fear the potential actions of the people.

Violet: And the US Government has issued a statement condemning the arrests of political and civic leaders, but it seems the situation keeps getting worse as the Government continues to arrest and brutalise opponents. We understand that Nelson Chamisa, the Spokesperson for the Tsvangirai MDC was brutalised on Sunday when he was trying to board a plane to got to an ACP/ EU meeting in Brussels, and then, we understand that the Opposition leader of the other MDC faction, Arthur Mutambara, was arrested as he was trying to leave the country to go to South Africa.

Two other Opposition officials, Grace Kwinjeh and Sekai Holland, were also detained at the airport as they were just about to go to South Africa for medical treatment. Now do you expect the Zimbabwe Government to respond to your statements, where you condemned, where the US Government condemned the arrests of the political and civic leaders, and, if not, is there anything that America can do about this?

Ambassador Dell: Well, of course we expect them to take seriously what we have to say. Even the refusal of the Foreign Minister to let other people raise their voices isn’t sufficient for us to be convinced that we’re not to stop speaking out and we won’t stop speaking out. Let me just say that the most recent assaults which you mentioned, the attack on the two ladies and on Nelson Chamisa, all of whom were travelling to the airport, two to seek medical attention one to participate in a meeting between European and African Parliamentarians; sanctioned by the Speaker of Zimbabwe’s Parliament by the way; exposes for the lie that it is, the Government’s claim that it’s merely responding to violence instigated by others.

Here you had two people who were seated on an aircraft, were dragged off by the police and then brutalised and sent back to hospital. And, in the other case, a man on his way to the airport, dragged out of his car and brutalised with iron bars. These people were not participating in violence, they were not inciting violence, they were seeking to perform legitimate travel; clearly brutal, unprovoked attacks. As we are speaking Violet, I am looking at pictures of Nelson’s beaten face on CNN, this just exposes for what it really is, I think for the whole world to see the mendacious nature of the Government’s claims about the situation here.

Violet: So is there anything that America can do about this?

Ambassador Dell: Well, we continue to work with regional neighbours to convince them to step up their engagement on the issues here and to respond. We are looking at ways of strengthening and expanding the sanctions regime against more individuals involved, including known and identifiable police officers. We will be, we are addressing a whole series of measures. I hope as well that we will find that the European Parliamentarians and African Parliamentarians participating in this ACP/EU meeting that Mr Chamisa was going to will have the opportunity to question rigorously the ZANU MPs who are in attendance at that meeting. I can’t believe that they would be allowed to get a free pass at a political gathering of that kind, coming there in the face of their Government’s brutal behaviour at home.

Violet: We will come to that issue just now, about Zanu PF Parliamentarians. But, on the issue of targeted sanctions, you know you said you are looking into tightening the targeted sanctions. Are you able to tell us a bit about in what ways they are going to be tightened or improved considering the rate of political deterioration?

Ambassador Dell: Well, the only thing I am in a position to say right now is we are looking at additional individuals who can be identified to include them on the lists of people who are targeted for financial sanctions and travel restrictions. That’s about as much as I can say at this point.

Violet: And, you know, as you’ve just mentioned just now, the Mugabe regime is preventing people from travelling to get medical treatment and an Opposition MP was brutalised when he was just about to leave the country to attend this ACP/EU meeting in Brussels. Now, ironically, ruling party MPs as you said, were allowed to leave. Now, what reasons do countries like America or European countries have for not including Zanu PF MPs to the targeted sanctions? You know after all they are other people who support Zanu PF’s repressive policies and make them law.

Ambassador Dell: Yes, well I can’t speak for the European Union, I’m afraid you’d have to address them

Violet: What about the US?

Ambassador Dell: We do include those individuals; those people are not free to travel to the United States whenever they want to.

Violet: All Zanu PF MPs?

Ambassador Dell: I believe that is correct, and, if I’m not correct you’ve just pointed out another very useful area we should take a look at. But, I believe they are already included.

Violet: And also Mugabe has threatened to expel Western diplomats whom he accuses of supporting the political opposition. He also said diplomats who wanted to represent their countries had to behave properly or would be thrown out. What do you make of these statements or these threats, rather?

Ambassador Dell: Well I’m not particularly disturbed by these threats, not only have we heard them before, but, more particularly, I’m an individual, I can be asked to leave the country any time, that’s certainly within their rights, but there’ll be somebody to take my place ultimately, maybe not immediately. You know, you can get rid of an individual; you cannot get rid of the United States. We will remain engaged here and we will continue to make our views known forcefully.

They hang a lot of their position on citing certain Articles of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations about non-interference in the internal affairs of the receiving State, conveniently ignoring other Articles of the Convention which obligate the receiving State; i.e. Zimbabwe; to allow diplomatic missions to ascertain; by all lawful means; the conditions and developments in the receiving State. We believe that by participating in, or observing, Courtroom procedures that are open to the public is certainly part of our duty about ascertaining the conditions prevailing in the State. So, we have a fundamental disagreement perhaps on the obligations and privileges accorded by the Vienna Convention but the Government’s position is not as rock-solid as it would like to maintain.

Violet: And I understand that Mugabe actually asked his Minister of Foreign Affairs to summon diplomats to read the riot act to them. Have you actually been summoned?

Ambassador Dell: Earlier in the day, earlier today, we were informed that the Minister would be holding a briefing for Diplomats at 2.00 o’clock here. We were invited to attend it. I did travel to the Ministry at that time. When it was made clear in response to two things, first, that it wasn’t a diplomatic briefing, it was essentially a press conference the Minister was holding using us as props; because he had invited television cameras and journalists; which is not the usual practice in a diplomatic meeting.

Secondly, I asked whether we were going to be afforded the privilege, after listening respectfully to the Minister, of having our own concerns addressed, questions answered and room for responses. Just as we had done, for example, in giving the Zimbabwean Ambassador the chance to respond when he was called in by the State Department last week. I was told that no such assurances could be given and I decided at that point that I couldn’t participate in such a shambolic event and I departed.

Violet: So you wouldn’t know what was actually discussed at this meeting with the other, or this conference with the other diplomats?

Ambassador Dell: Oh I’ve been back briefed. They made the case that they have been, I believe the Minister’s phrase was ‘excessively tolerant’ in allowing the Opposition to exist here, no other country in the world is as tolerant as Zimbabwe. And, that certain Western diplomats, un-named, but he cited eight, have been behaving in a manner that they don’t believe accords with their diplomatic responsibilities. I think he gave an open press conference afterwards; and you can probably find exactly what he said on the wires since it was, in essence a public meeting rather than a diplomatic thing; I think you could probably turn to the media to get a full report. They are free to take any action they believe is within their rights. We will respond appropriately and in the meantime we are going to continue to engage here in ways that we believe is important to do to support democracy in this part of the world, and in this country in particular.

Violet: And has anything changed, you know, US perception on the issue of labelling Zimbabwe an ‘outpost of tyranny’?

Ambassador Dell: I would say the only thing that has changed in respect of that we are convinced that it’s true and we call upon Zimbabwe’s neighbours to recognise it and act accordingly.

Violet: Several Governments in the West responded immediately to the arrests and the assaults of the Opposition and the Civic Leaders, but some observers say so far there have been rather weak statements from Africa. Why do you think African countries are so reluctant to condemn human rights abuses particularly in Zimbabwe?

Ambassador Dell: Well, I think that’s a question you have to really direct at them to explain their motivations. What I think is happening however; and there was by the way one very mild observation from an individual in the South African Government, the Deputy Foreign Minister; what I think is happening however is the ability of the African Governments to hide behind the sort of propaganda barrage from the Government of Zimbabwe, blaming this all, characterising this all as a dispute between the West and Robert Mugabe or between Great Britain and the government of Zimbabwe or whatever their excuse is. That ability to hide behind that is disappearing as the world sees photographs and evidence of the violence being carried out by the Government of Zimbabwe against its own people. It’s very clear these were not actions in any way connected to anyone except the Government of Zimbabwe, which chose to deliberately assault and use violence against its own population.

Violet: The US sub-contracted their foreign policy on Zimbabwe or their policy on Zimbabwe to South Africa by making Thabo Mbeki the lead man. But, many believe he’s blocking progress on Zimbabwe. What are your views on this?

Ambassador Dell: Well I don’t think it’s fair to still go as far to go as far as to say that President Mbeki is blocking progress. I think he believed in what he called ‘quiet diplomacy’ and I think there is a growing recognition by the South African public that quiet diplomacy has not worked, that its played out and has not succeeded and that it’s time for a new approach. I’ve been very impressed by the outpouring of public sentiment, outrage in South Africa of what their neighbouring country is doing here. And, I believe that as public opinion in South Africa clearly shifts and becomes more forceful that the Government there will respond appropriately.

Violet: Let’s go back to the issue of the targeted sanctions your Government extended on key Government officials in Zimbabwe. What impact have these had on the officials?

Ambassador Dell: Yes. Well you know, the Government of Zimbabwe likes to – has a very confused message on this. On the one hand, they blame all their problems on sanctions; if only there were no sanctions nothing would be wrong in Zimbabwe today. And, on the other hand, they protest bitterly about how they’re illegal; in private they complain about how it hurts them. A very confused message and at the same time saying ‘well, you know, we don’t care; they don’t do any damage to us’.

They just really haven’t ever got their story straight on this. Our belief is that the targeted measures do work, they do hurt and the individuals who’ve been targeted are those who in private complain the most about the losses they suffer as a result or their inability to travel, for example, to visit their children in the US. With regards to the future I can only say ‘watch this space’. I think you will see some further moves on the sanctions front.

Violet: And, you know, not only the Zimbabwe Government has blamed the crisis on the sanctions, but even some African leaders. Now, why do you think that regional leaders perceive that US measures are increasing the suffering in Zimbabwe?

Ambassador Dell: Oh I think it’s a convenient reason to not engage or take any action on their own. If they are willing, if they are able to sort of hide behind these false accusations it gives them an easy out from having to actually face up to the building crisis on their own front door steps.

Violet: And if there are no sanctions on Zimbabwe as a country, what aid and trade is there between the US and Zimbabwe and are you able to tell us what it amounts to in terms of export earnings at this point?

Ambassador Dell: Sure. Right now Zimbabwe has a positive trade relationship with the United States. Zimbabwe, on the order of $74 million a year versus approximately $50 million a year. These numbers are slightly old and in fact, as the overall decline of Zimbabwe’s economy under the poor management of the Government continues and more and more companies shut down for lack of materials, lack of foreign exchange etcetera, the trade balance will be diminishing because the Zimbabwean economy is disappearing from under us.

But, many Zimbabwean companies do business with the United States, leading exports include automobile windows, doors, sporting equipment, trade goes on in a variety of areas and there are more than 40 or 50 American companies represented, usually by local representatives right here in Harare that import goods from the United States. You asked about our assistance, that runs on the order, well, it varies year to year, but we provide, we provided last year, for example, US$50 million in food assistance to Zimbabwe and another US$26 million in the fight against HIV/AIDS. So I think that gives you a pretty good sense of the fact that the US Government remains deeply committed to helping the people and staving off the worst effects of the crisis that the Government has caused here.

Violet: Right, and of course there are others, like Mugabe, who have accused your Government of trying to overthrow his Government via a surrogate Opposition and impose the sanctions to stifle the regime. Can you comment on that?

Ambassador Dell: Well, its arrant nonsense and they all know it, but the Government of Zimbabwe is a practitioner of the big lie, if you are going to have a propaganda war, you tell a big lie and you repeat it over and over. For example, they’ve been trying to blame the recent demonstrations here on an alleged meeting that I’m supposed to have had with the Opposition forces at the Hotel Bronte on January 9th. On that day I was in Bulawayo as it happens and they can simply go to the National Museum there and see where I signed in the Guest Book if they want to prove that to themselves.

But, their tactic is to repeat the same lies over and over again in the efforts of trying to create a new reality that’s more palatable to them rather than facing up to their own responsibilities which was the refreshing thing, I must say, about Governor Gono’s last monetary policy statement. It was the first time a senior official of Zimbabwe’s Government has recognised what we all know to be true which is that Zimbabwe’s problems are caused by Zimbabwe and the solutions also lie in Zimbabwe. We agree with that completely and I have told everybody here, beginning with the President himself when I presented my credentials two years ago, for us the question is not who rules Zimbabwe, but how Zimbabwe is ruled.

If there were genuinely free and fair elections under strong international supervision, we would respect the result no matter who won that. What we object to is the kind of manipulated voting process that has come to characterise elections here in which the will of the people is thwarted by distortion of the results of the elections. So you asked about the question of change here. The change here we would like to see is change that comes about through legitimate democratic means, i.e. a free and fair election and a ballot box.

Violet: And also, in the recent International Crisis Group, the ICG, Report on Zimbabwe.

Ambassador Dell: Yes.

Violet: You know, there’s a road map for change in the country. Now is America in favour of this plan and do you think it is at all achievable? You know, they say, they talk about the retirement of Mugabe and then a transitional government which may lead to a new constitution and elections. Is America in favour of this plan?

Ambassador Dell: Look, there are probably as many ideas and plans out there as there are groups writing them about what the way forward is here. I think the way forward is very clear; it’s through elections, it’s through free and fair elections, it’s through free and fair elections under international supervision; however that is to be defined; that reflect the will of the people as expressed through their votes. An election is scheduled for next March, that’s the way forward I believe.

t is clear that change is coming, it is clear that a succession is in the offing, everybody knows that the economic crisis that Zimbabwe is experiencing simply provides the backdrop for the internal dissentions within the Ruling Party; that’s where the succession struggle is playing itself out right now. So we don’t have any particular view on the ICG Report, there are interesting ideas. I think the important thing is that the process needs to be conducted through legitimate democratic means, that the results - that the will of the people is respected, and that whoever comes to power gets down to the serious work of rebuilding a shattered economy and a shattered democratic system that once made Zimbabwe the great hope of the region.

Violet: There’s also this talk of the possibility of a reformed Zanu PF. Now, would America be willing to negotiate with a reformed Zanu PF?

Ambassador Dell: Well, that kind of forces me to repeat what I just said, it’s not about who it’s about how/

Violet: The reason I’m asking that is because many would ask, and certainly our listeners - that is it possible to reform a regime that so abuses human rights and is apparently full of corruption. So that’s why I’m going back to that question.

Ambassador Dell: Well, that’s a valid question; I mean I can’t answer that in the abstract, we’ll have to see whether there is enough recognition within the ruling party on the need for reform, that reform-minded individuals can actually implement a reform based programme in that party. I simply don’t know the answer. I think there are many good people in ZANU who understand what the problems are in this country, they understand their own Party is responsible for that and who genuinely want a better day for the future of Zimbabwe, but there are many people in the Party who don’t feel that way and I don’t know how a struggle between them would play out.

We’ve made it very clear that any re-engagement on the part of the United States, and I don’t speak for others, but I think views are similar elsewhere in the International Community, any re-engagement on our part is going to be predicated upon their being genuine, concrete and irreversible reforms here. As I said publicly before you know, rescue requires reforms. The simple fact is Zimbabwe has dug such a deep hole for itself; it does not have the resources nor the ability to climb out of that hole on its own. It’s going to need a helping hand. We are prepared to provide that helping hand but only on the basis that whoever is governing this country is clearly, demonstrably and irrevocably committed to reforms to restore the economy and democracy.

Violet: That’s exactly what I wanted to ask on the issue of what happens when change comes. It is inevitable that Mugabe is going to go, either by retirement or by death and so some would ask –

Ambassador Dell: Or defeated in elections.

Violet: Or defeated in elections; that’s if he stands again. What is the US prepared to do in terms of reconstruction given the absolute destruction of the economy and the social fabric of society?

Ambassador Dell: Well, we are increasing turning attention to that very question, trying to define the scale and the scope of what will be required to rebuild this country. It’s very difficult to say at this point, we all know the economic collapse has been massive, we all know that there is a tremendous amount that needs to be done for example Zimbabwe’s foreign debt now stands at US$4 billion, how is Zimbabwe going to address that? Many, as much as a third of its population; some of the most talented Zimbabweans; have left the country. Who’s going to help them? How are they going to be persuaded to come home and participate in the re-building?

The Government’s flagrant disregard for private property and the Rule of Law have led to the absolute drying up of investment here, both foreign investments but much more importantly, investment by Zimbabweans. How are those questions going to be addressed? So, there’s a lot that has to be thought through, there are questions not only of how much money is going to be required but what kinds of policies, what kinds of changes, what kinds of legal reforms. It’s a massive agenda, as I said. As the end looms we are increasingly turning our attention to thinking about tomorrow and the days after the changes.

Violet: And we spoke earlier about the reports that the British and the US Government and the British Government intended to unite the Opposition, which you denied, but what exactly is the US position regarding the current state of the Opposition in Zimbabwe?

Ambassador Dell: Well, I have to tell you, I think that the Government’s recent actions have done more good than anything anybody else could have done to fostering unification in the MDC. It was quite striking; Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Mutambara were sitting side by side in the bench in Court, talking in a relaxed manner with each other for many hours. I think this is yet another example of a tremendous own goal scored by the Government of Zimbabwe against itself.

Violet: And finally, and on a lighter note, can you describe your character to us? You know the reason I’m asking is do you like a little trouble because you’ve been Ambassador in some of the world’s hot spots you know where there are issues of democracy …Ambassador Dell: (laughs)

Violet: … and I think at one time Mugabe actually called you a troublemaker? Can you comment about this?

Ambassador Dell: Well, you know you judge a man by his enemies is all I can say to that comment. Do I like trouble? No, not really, But as a professional American Diplomat I’ve developed a certain expertise in countries with, shall we say, a difficult democratic legacy, and, I quite enjoy working to advance the values that my country believes in and stands for. And, so it’s been, despite the efforts of the Government here to vilify me, if that’s the right word, I don’t know if there’s a word for devil-fy me! It’s been certainly an enjoyable experience and an honour to actually witness the people of Zimbabwe as they carry out their heroic struggle.

Violet: And you were actually briefly detained for jogging to close to the State House, did you really just wander in that area?

Ambassador Dell: Ah, there’s another old canard they like to raise from time to time! I was in a public park, it was not clearly marked that it was a private area and I was taking pictures of birds, I like birds and I like photography and we happened to stumble across an unmarked military installation in the middle of a public park. The whole thing was rectified very civilly initially until the Government decided it was something they could make political hay out of it and turn it into another story. Their initial reaction was to apologise ask me not to sort of protest and raise too many complaints about their own behaviour; rather the behaviour of their own soldiers to which senior MFA and military officials called me personally to apologise.

Violet: So you were just enjoying a jog and just wandered in that area?

Ambassador Dell: Yes exactly. The story, they’ve also never been; and that’s another example of how inconsistent they are; they’ve never been able to keep the story straight, what I was doing there. And, they’ve put out three or four different versions of their sinister interpretations within three or four days and for a Government that prides itself on it’s propaganda apparatus, they really are fairly amateurish.

Violet: And before we go Ambassador is there anything you might want to add?

Ambassador Dell: No, I think it’s clear that there is a building crisis in this country and one can only admire the resolution and courage of the people here as they begin to take the future of their country out of the hands of those who have manipulated them for so long and back into their own hands.

Violet Gonda: Thank you very much Ambassador Dell

Ambassador Dell: Ok. Thank you very much.

When will Africa demonstrate solidarity with Zimbabweans?

New Zimbabwe

By Dr Alex T. Magaisa
Last updated: 03/21/2007 12:03:43
THE shockingly brutal treatment of Zimbabwe's opposition leaders on March
11, 2007, and the violent events that followed meant that for once in a long
while the sad Zimbabwean story captured international attention.

Over the last few years, there was a sense that Zimbabwe had become one of
the relegated places that time had forgotten. There was a reminder last week
of the cruel hand that fate appears to have assigned to Zimbabwe. Yet the
reaction has hardly differed from what has been witnessed before. As the
weeks go by, the Zimbabwean story will once again descend from the headlines
into the inner pages, until it's heard no more. And then it might flare up
again and the cycle will continue.

Those that have an interest in assisting Zimbabwe out of the mire and have
the leverage to do so must not only issue words of admonishment and
solidarity but must be seen to be actively pursuing approaches that can make
positive difference to the Zimbabwean people. And those best placed; those
with a greater leverage over the Zimbabwean leadership; those to whom they
are likely to listen, are the African countries who must surely now know
that this can no longer be seen and justified through the lens of the land
redistribution; who must surely now realise that this is not a simple matter
of the indigenous reclaiming lost possessions

In considering the present needs and expectations of the Zimbabwean people,
given the fate that awaits any self-help mechanisms, I will reflect on a
recent experience, which I have found poignant in relation to the
circumstances of Zimbabwe.

It was a surprisingly sunny and pleasant afternoon last weekend, when Farai
and I decided after soaking up the rare sunshine, that we could spent what
remained of the day relaxing the mind with a menu of the good beverage and
television football. The beautiful game and alcoholic beverages tend to get
along well at the best of times. And for this we selected the good old local
public house.

We were halfway through the match, when we were favoured with the company of
an uninvited guest, who, it was apparent, had permitted the beverage to get
the better of his faculties. His presence and untamed appearance brought
considerable uneasiness on our part which, however, being men taught from an
early age not to flinch, we withheld from disclosing. In any event, the
tradition of extending generous accommodation to strangers, one with which
we were familiar from childhood, held us back from acting upon our concerns
regarding the gentleman's uninvited settlement at our table.

We were soon to discover that our guest was eager to initiate conversation,
which, as is invariably the case in these parts, began with an interrogation
into our origins, our appearance being sufficient to establish a prima facie
case of our exotic roots. But having been subjected to this question
innumerable times before, we were not perturbed. Instead, knowing the
familiar line of enquiry that usually follows that question, we readily
volunteered information about ourselves, such as the reasons for our
presence in the land, how long we had been in the land, what we do, and so
on.

Unsurprisingly, the name of our homeland immediately excited the attention
of our guest, as it often does these days, on account of the country's dire
circumstances, which often occupy much space in the media. He was quick to
express his sympathy for the people of Zimbabwe, indicating how he had been
greatly disturbed by the images of tortured bodies of men and women that he
had seen in the media. He had a lot of things to say, our uninvited guest,
most of which could have been said by any Zimbabwean unhappy at the
situation obtaining in the country. Although we were not minded to discuss a
matter of such seriousness in the particular environment in which our guest
had chosen to introduce it, we did our best to engage him.

There were signs however, of wild aggression on his part, which exhibited
both in his voice and his gestures, including his tendency to get very close
to the person, invading that precious personal space close to the body,
which we found very uncomfortable, especially as he appeared to be unable to
restrain his oral matter, which in many ways put us off our beverages on the
table.

The flavour of the conversation, or his monologue, for that is what it had
become, began to sour when he enquired of our religious affiliations, a
matter that we did not consider necessary or appropriate, in the particular
location in which he sought to discuss it. Our uneasiness grew as his
monologue became littered with references to matters of colour, race,
religion, and other such matters of a sensitive nature. He repeatedly
declared that he was not a racist, although nobody had suggested or enquired
in that direction. We found it odd, that a man should wish to exonerate
himself of an offence in relation to which no one had accused him in the
first place.

It is not often that one would reject an offer of beverage in a public house
but on this occasion, given the increasingly worrisome behaviour of our
guest we were very quick to refuse his offer, which we did with politeness.
We refused because we thought that our acceptance might provide a licence
for him to remain in our company. Evidently a man who does not take no for
an answer, he proceeded to buy the beverages anyway, at which point we found
ourselves in a little dilemma. To ignore the beverages might enrage him
further but to partake them might provide the very licence we sought to
withhold. We decided to be polite and avoid trouble.

Just as we had calculated, our politeness gave him unlimited jurisdiction
over us, particularly in respect of providing an audience to his monologue.
In declaring, perhaps for the twentieth time, that he was not a racist, he
let out an exception, indicating that he was "only racist to Muslims and
Pakis" - a derogatory term generally used in the UK to refer to people of
Asian origin. We found this to be grossly offensive and felt that he had
tested the limits of our patience. We promptly advised him that we were not
interested in his opinions, but this only appeared to inspire him, in the
process making patronising statements that he was honoured to be in the
company of us, "black men", as he called us.

Within a short space of time, he had metamorphosed from uninvited guest to
attempted friend to an unwelcome irritant. By this time, his antics had
already attracted growing attention from fellow patrons in the
establishment, who issued occasional glances towards our table in a manner
that communicated the beholders' concern for our welfare. On our part, we
remained calm, in a manner that others might consider, rather harshly but
understandably, to be docile. We were conscious of the fact that there is
always the risk that when engaging in any argument with a person in the
state that the annoying guest was, in a public house, it can be difficult
for observers to distinguish who between you is right.

It did not escape us also, that being who we were, it is easy for people
holding stereotypes to pass unfavourable judgement on us in the event that
we decided to retaliate, especially if the exchange became more physical.
Also we were aware from experience that those that have never experienced
racial treatment often find it difficult to appreciate the plight of
victims, and often when the victim reacts emotions can get the better of his
senses and he can easily end up being accused as the aggressor.

Whilst contemplating the next move, in the face of this clear abuse of
hospitality that we had reluctantly extended, three fellow patrons decided
that they had heard and seen enough of this guest of ours. So they took it
upon themselves, without our solicitation, to confront him on our behalf.
They admonished him for being a nuisance and ordered him to let us enjoy our
peace. Our newly found friends invited us to another table but our guest was
clearly a stubborn man, for he followed to that table. At that moment
another patron of much larger physical build decided to step in. He had a
quiet word with the man and after a short but, I believe, strong lecture,
our guest apologised to us and other patrons and exited with the proverbial
tail between his legs.

In the end we expressed our gratitude to fellow patrons, for having had the
decency and courage to step in and demonstrate active solidarity with us in
the circumstances in which the uninvited guest had placed us. Our colleagues
expressed admiration at our patience in the face of harassment. Some
indicated that if they had been in our situation, they would have snapped
and deployed their physical powers on the annoying man. We later left the
public house, comfortable in the belief that our calm approach had not been
interpreted as docility or cowardice. But we were prouder because we had
experienced the solidarity of mankind, which we had hardly expected because
we did not think fellow patrons would have the capacity to appreciate our
plight.

Farai and I later talked about this expression solidarity, returning to the
subject of our homeland. We talked about the calmness of Zimbabweans even in
the face of abuse, which has earned us criticism that we are a docile people
who willingly submit to abuse. We talked about the lack of meaningful
solidarity for the foot-soldiers of Zimbabwe - the men and women toiling on
the ground, under the weight of grave political and economic encumbrances.
We talked about how our fellow neighbours, like South Africa, Mozambique and
Namibia, to whom the people of Zimbabwe had previously extended solidarity,
have now turned back, seemingly unconcerned when the children of Zimbabwe
sorely need their solidarity.

We wished that the spirit of our fellow patrons who had extended their
solidarity, could translate on a grander scale, to the solidarity that
fellow African nations could give to the people of Zimbabwe and assist in
actively seeking for a solution to the problems afflicting the country. Our
fellow patrons were probably embarrassed and shamed by the antics of the
uninvited guest. Surely, there is a sense of embarrassment about the way
things are happening in Zimbabwe?

Dr Magaisa can be contacted at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk

Mugabe associate defies EU travel ban

The Telegraph

By Bruno Waterfield in Brussels and Peta Thornycroft
Last Updated: 1:51am GMT 21/03/2007

      A crony of President Robert Mugabe who was banned from entering the
European Union under sanctions imposed on the Zimbabwean leadership was in
Brussels yesterday after evading the travel ban.

      Edward Chindori-Chininga, a former government minister and MP for Mr
Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, is one of more than 100 regime figures named on a
visa ban watch list. But he entered Belgium after apparently duping the
Belgian authorities and flying to the city from Harare via Gatwick airport.

      The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday that Mr Chindori-Chininga, 52,
was spotted by opposition and human rights activists boarding an Air
Zimbabwe flight in Harare on Sunday.

      advertisement
      Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, confirmed to the Commons
yesterday that the former minister had arrived in Brussels after being
helped by an "error" by the Belgian authorities.This "error" appeared to
show how easy it is for determined officials linked to Mr Mugabe's regime to
flout EU sanctions.

      Belgian officials said yesterday that a man who "seems to be" Mr
Chindori-Chininga applied for a visa at a Belgian consulate in South Africa
under the shortened name of Edward Chininga.

      "He received a visa in Johannesburg. His name was Chininga, so when we
made checks, his name did not appear on the list," said a Belgian foreign
ministry official.

      European Commission officials said yesterday that action to
investigate or deport Mr Chindori-Chininga must be taken by the Belgian
authorities. "The commission would like the sanctions to be applied," said a
spokesman.

      Nelson Chamisa, an MP in the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change, was badly beaten by government-backed thugs at Harare airport as he
tried to travel to a meeting of EU, African, Caribbean and Pacific MPs in
Brussels, which opened yesterday.

      Zanu-PF delegates were permitted to attend the meeting. But it was
unclear last night why Mr Chindori-Chininga, who was not on the guest list
for the meeting, was visiting Brussels.

      Glenys Kinnock, the MEP and chairman of the meeting, said she
regretted that the Zanu-PF delegation was allowed to enter Europe.

      "Early action should have been taken to prevent this situation," she
said. "I hope the EU will make it clear that the delegation must leave at
the earliest opportunity."

      Mrs Beckett faced demands yesterday that Britain take out tougher
sanctions against Mr Mugabe's regime after brutal attacks on political
opponents including the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

      She told the House of Commons: "One of those who travelled to the
meeting in Brussels was indeed on the banned list but his visa was issued in
error by, I believe, the Belgian government."

      She dismissed suggestions that a visa had been issued by Britain for
an individual to travel through London.

      But the shadow foreign secretary, William Hague, said the issue of the
mistake highlighted the fact that the EU could not "muster the consistency
and courage" to enforce current measures against Harare.

      He asked: "Is it not now time for the EU to agree and enforce
additional asset freezes and visa bans on members of the Mugabe regime?"

      Mrs Beckett replied: "The government of Belgium has both apologised
for the error and withdrawn the visa."

      Mr Chindori-Chininga is believed to be a regular visitor to France
despite the EU travel sanctions.

Ex-Australian fears death in Zimbabwe

The Age, Australia

March 21, 2007 - 9:36AM

AdvertisementAdvertisement
A former Australian resident under armed guard in Zimbabwe fears she will
die if she is prevented from leaving the African nation for medical
treatment.

Sekai Holland is in hospital in Harare with armed police inside and outside
her room, even though she has not been charged since her arrest and beating
following an opposition protest on March 11.

A judge refused to see the 64-year-old grandmother and her Australian
husband Jim Holland on Monday, although a hearing was set down for midday
today (9pm AEDT).

Speaking secretly from her hospital bed on a borrowed mobile phone, Mrs
Holland said she feared the worst should she be prevented from going to
South Africa.

"Of course I will die - I will have an early death," Mrs Holland told ABC
radio today.

Mrs Holland, already wracked by arthritis, told of horrific injuries she
allegedly sustained in police custody after her arrest.

She described how her left foot, left hand and three ribs were broken and
her entire body had been "lashed black".

"My body is still covered with 81 lashes, minimum, administered by 50 men,
really strong men," she said.

"It's (my body) all just really in pain."

Mrs Holland, the policy secretary for the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change, was one of several senior activists allegedly beaten and tortured by
police after the protest.

She needs to got to Johannesburg to receive hyperbaric oxygen treatment to
avert permanent damage to her leg.

But Mrs Holland was not hopeful Zimbabwe's police would heed any court order
permitting her leave.

"I am not going to be able to do that because the government says we are
safest at the hospital," she said.

Despite her injuries and fears for her life, Mrs Holland said she did not
regret opposing President Robert Mugabe's regime.

"No, we have lived our lives for this," she said.

Ms Holland came to Australia from Zimbabwe in 1961 and married Jim Holland
before the couple moved back to her homeland in 1981.

The couple has a son and a daughter who still live in Australia.

Mrs Holland had some warm words for her former home: "I am very proud of
everything Australia has written and done (for me).

"The Aboriginal and Australian island community, thank you, thank you
Australia very much."

AAP

A Blot on Africa's Copybook

Institute for War and Peace Reporting

While African civil society mobilises in solidarity with Zimbabweans,
governments and regional bodies remain silent.

By Ayesha Kajee in Harare (AR No. 103, 20-Mar-07)

"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination
to injustice makes democracy necessary." In a keynote address last week,
Professor Walter Kamba of the University of Zimbabwe used this quote from
the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr to emphasise that true participatory
democracy goes beyond the mere holding of elections.

The elderly yet energetic Professor Kamba ought to know - in an illustrious
career spanning several decades, he has been involved in democracy-building
efforts in several countries, not the least of which was his nomination to
South Africa's first post-apartheid electoral commission in 1994.

It is both apposite and ironic that the same week as activists and
opposition party members were being arrested, beaten and shot at in Harare,
the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, ZESN, convened a regional dialogue in
the same city on the subject of democracy and elections in southern Africa.
Attended by delegates from election monitoring bodies and parliaments as
well as civil society representatives, the event showcased lessons learned
from both good and bad practice in the region and beyond.

"It is with a heavy heart that I stand here today," ZESN's vice-chair Noel
Kututwa told the meeting in opening remarks which captured the sombre mood
of the audience. "We have a fundamental problem in Zimbabwe. rights
enshrined in our constitution are not being upheld."

Every example of the erosion of democratic rights and freedoms cited during
the March 15-16 event had been played out in the environs of Harare in the
days preceding the roundtable.

In the week between Sunday March 11 and 18, Zimbabwean activists were
severely beaten, arbitrarily arrested and refused access to medical care and
legal representation.

On the first Sunday, leaders of both factions of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change, MDC, were arrested and youth activist Gift Tandare was
shot dead.

The following Sunday, following a week in which harassment and assault of
opposition leaders was rife, the outspoken member of parliament Nelson
Chamiya was brutally assaulted at Harare airport while preparing to travel
to a meeting in Brussels.

The erosion of freedoms, rigged elections, kleptocracy and abuse of
executive power are common themes on this continent, even if in most cases
the political and economic meltdown has not reached the levels currently
seen in Zimbabwe.

In most instances, citizens revolt and depose their government, or else
regional and international players pressure the leadership to negotiate with
the opposition. In Zimbabwe's case, as illustrated by events in recent
weeks, attempts to mount protests are met with assault, torture and even
indiscriminate killing.

Such actions breach numerous conventions on human rights, yet the censure
from neighbouring states and regional bodies such as the African Union has
been very mild, and limited to expressions of concern.

On March 15, President Robert Mugabe had a five-hour meeting with his
Tanzanian counterpart President Jakaya Kikwete, who chairs the regional
security arm of the Southern African Development Community, SADC. This
prompted hopes that SADC was at last exerting some much-needed pressure.

But Mugabe came out of the talks thumbing his nose at his detractors, and
used the joint press conference to tell his critics in the West to "go hang".

Tanzania, Namibia and Lesotho, the three countries responsible for regional
security in SADC, will meet on March 26 to discuss the Zimbabwe crisis.

Ghanaian president John Kufuor, whose country currently holds the presidency
of the African Union, said during a visit to London last week that "the
African Union is very uncomfortable. The situation in [Zimbabwe] is very
embarrassing."

Meanwhile, Alpha Konare, the chair of the African Union's commission,
acknowledged the "need for the scrupulous respect for human rights and
democratic principles in Zimbabwe".

But so far, the continent-wide body has failed to come up with any effective
strategy to compel the Mugabe regime to uphold these rights.

South Africa, which happened to occupy the rotating chair of the United
Nations Security Council in March, has quashed suggestions that the Zimbabwe
situation be debated by the council. China, Russia and African nations have
taken a similar stand in the past.

"We do not believe that the issue of Zimbabwe belongs to the Security
Council, because it is not a matter of international peace and security",
said South Africa's ambassador to the UN, Dumisani Kumalo.

That is a contentious point - the influx of thousands of refugees and
illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe into neighbouring countries certainly has
the potential to affect regional stability, while the threat of a state of
emergency imposed by Mugabe's government is likely to escalate the
population displacement.

The silence of key architects of an African renaissance, and in particular
the New Partnership for Africa's Development, is truly a blot on Africa's
copybook. Their commitment must be thrown into question if they remain mute
when confronted with evidence of gross human rights violations against
citizens of an African state.

The most high-profile individual critic of this silence has been the Nobel
Peace prizewinner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who put the question in eloquent
terms.

"How can what is happening in Zimbabwe elicit hardly a word of concern, let
alone condemnation, from us leaders of Africa?" he asked. "What more has to
happen before we who are leaders, religious and political, of our mother
Africa are moved to cry out 'Enough is enough'?"

Meanwhile, civil society organisations across the region have publicly
expressed their outrage and concern at the human rights abuses and
deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe. Marches and protest meetings have been
held in South Africa and Namibia, and petitions have been signed by
thousands of people from across the continent.

As the ZESN conference closed, individuals and civil society organisations
represented there gathered to draft a message of solidarity, and called upon
all parties in Zimbabwe and the region to come together to assist in
negotiating a way out of the current mire.

Such public expressions of concern highlight the response of Africans to the
sufferings of people in Zimbabwe. They should also serve to jolt the
consciences of African leaders.

Governments and regional organisations in Africa would do well to give
serious consideration to another question from ArchbishopTutu, "Do we really
care about human rights? Do we care that people of flesh and blood - fellow
Africans - are being treated like rubbish, almost worse than they were ever
treated by rabid racists?"

Ayesha Kajee is Programme Head for Democracy and Political Party Systems in
Africa at the South African Institute of International Affairs.

U.S. Contact with Zimbabwean Embassy

US Department of State

Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
March 20, 2007
Question Taken at the March 20 Daily Press Briefing

Question: Have we had contact with the Zimbabwean Embassy here in
Washington about the threats Zimbabwe has made against Western missions
there?

Answer: The State Department Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of
African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield called in the Zimbabwean Ambassador
accredited to the United States on March 16 to condemn the unacceptable
behavior of his government and to demand that the Government of Zimbabwe
respect the democratic rights of its citizens. On March 19, the Zimbabwean
Foreign Minister issued a threat to foreign diplomats to remain quiet or
face being declared persona non grata. The United States has not yet
discussed this issue with the Zimbabwean Ambassador, but we and our
Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell, remain undeterred by the threat
and will continue to speak and act steadfastly in support of the people of
Zimbabwe's right to democracy.

2007/212

Released on March 20, 2007

SADC council calls for summit to talk about Zim

SABC

March 21, 2007, 05:00

The Southern African Development Community Council of Non-Governmental
Organisations (SADC Council of NGO's) has called on the Chairperson of the
SADC region, Pakalitha Mosisili, to convene a special summit to discuss the
political situation in Zimbabwe.

"We believe that the crisis has reached a point where Zimbabweans need to be
strongly persuaded and directly assisted to find urgent solution to the
crisis that affect the entire region," said the SADC council of NGO's in a
statement. "As a region with the vision and dreams that we have - of a
prosperous and democratic societies, we should be having a demonstrable
interest in finding the solution in Zimbabwe, and act accordingly. Our
continued silence and inaction in the face of intensifying suffering and
destruction in Zimbabwe cannot be of any value or benefit to our vision as a
region or individual member-states. The SADC Heads of State and Government's
intervention and leadership is urgently needed".

Disregard of law
The SADC Council of NGO's said the Zimbabwean government's disregard of law
needed to be stopped before the matter turned into a full-scale humanitarian
crisis which the SADC region and the African continent would regret for
years to come. "There are clearly guidelines, principles and frameworks in
the SADC protocols that define and tabulate where our region should be
going, how to get there, and what steps are necessary to be taken to get
there. What is happening in Zimbabwe negates all that the region has worked
so hard to achieve in ensuring a peaceful, democratic and sustainable
region. The integration efforts that the region stands for are being
reversed by such actions."

The SADC Council of NGOs said it was shocked at the increasing acts of human
rights violations against Zimbabwean citizens and called on President Robert
Mugabe's government to conduct an independent investigation into the recent
political violence which has seen leaders of the opposition being tortured
by police.

"The Zimbabwe government must take full responsibility of the actions of its
security agents and institutions and halt all forms of torture and beating
in police custody."

They also urged the Zimbabwean government to recognise opposition political
parties as legitimate political institutions and to work with SADC
institutions such as the SADC Parliamentary Forum as well as the African
Union and the Pan African Parliament to find a lasting solution to the
problems in Zimbabwe. - Sapa

US wants SA to counter repression in Zimbabwe

IOL

          March 21 2007 at 01:42AM

      Washington - The United States has urged South Africa to help
international efforts to end a violent crackdown on the political opposition
to Zimbabwe's long-time ruler, Robert Mugabe, a senior official said on
Tuesday.

      Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice raised the issue during a
telephone call with her South African counterpart, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma,
on Friday, State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said.

      "One thing we are looking for from the South African government is to
lend their voice to efforts to stop the political violence that is ongoing
in Zimbabwe," McCormack said.

      He said Washington also hoped South Africa would boost its effort to
help improve "the really increasingly bad economic situation" in Zimbabwe.

      South Africa, the regional powerhouse, has been widely criticised for
not doing more to curb the crackdown on Zimbabwe's political opposition by
Mugabe, who has ruled the country since independence in 1980.

      Mugabe's government came under international condemnation last week
for violently breaking up an opposition rally during which senior
politicians were severely beaten and arrested.

      South Africa, which has long pursued a policy of "quiet diplomacy"
towards its northern neighbour, has called for Zimbabwe to respect the
rights of all its citizens but the comments stop some of the expressions of
outrage that have been heard elsewhere.

      The United States said last week it was considering widening a
programme of bilateral sanctions which is already in place against Mugabe
and his immediate coterie.

      Ogwu, speaking to AFP on Monday during a visit to Oslo, countered that
"continued dialogue, continued negotiations" were needed in dealing with the
Zimbabwe crisis.

      "Regarding economic sanctions, it is important that states that are
external to Africa do not take actions that are inimical to the interests of
Zimbabwe and Africa," Ogwu said. - Sapa-AFP

Tsvangirai expresses concern over region's lukewarm response

Mugabe seeks Angola's help to quell protests

'It is as if we are now under a police state'

US says it is unfazed by Harare's threats

Striking workers burn sugar crop

Students fail to get exam results

Opposition in Zimbabwe Mounts, Says U.S. Diplomat

The politics of impotent hand-wringing

Rule by Iron Bar

How African leaders appease Robert Mugabe
Democracy Inaction

Consensus among S. African nations building against Mugabe

Force, not diplomacy, answer to Mugabe

The Sketch: The world's terrible and Mrs Beckett is concerned

Exiled Zimbabweans grateful to SAfrica, yearn for return home

Interview: US Ambassador Christopher Dell

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Exiled Zimbabweans grateful to SAfrica, yearn for return home

Interview: US Ambassador Christopher Dell

When will Africa demonstrate solidarity with Zimbabweans?

Mugabe associate defies EU travel ban

Ex-Australian fears death in Zimbabwe

A Blot on Africa's Copybook

U.S. Contact with Zimbabwean Embassy

SADC council calls for summit to talk about Zim

US wants SA to counter repression in Zimbabwe

SADC Foreign Ministers to discuss Zimbabwean political situation

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