MDC says won't quit talks despite violence

Zim Online

Thursday 11 October 2007

By Hendricks Chizhanje

HARARE - Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
party says it will carry on talks with President Robert Mugabe's governing
ZANU PF party despite what it described as unabated violence against its
supporters.

Tendai Biti, secretary general in the larger faction of the MDC led by
Morgan Tsvangirai, on Wednesday told ZimOnline that political violence was
continuing in Zimbabwe and that suppression of the freedoms of assembly and
movement had not stopped, but said the party would not pull out of South
African-led talks with ZANU PF.

"Violence hasn't abated. Suppression of freedom of assembly and movement has
not stopped," said Biti, who is representing the MDC in the talks together
with Welshman Ncube, the secretary general of the other faction of the MDC.

"Nonetheless, we are continuing with the SADC (Southern African Development
Community)-brokered dialogue process and we are pursuing it to its logical
conclusion," added Biti, repudiating earlier reports in the international
press claiming the opposition party had said it could withdraw from talks.

South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki was last March tasked by SADC to lead
efforts to resolve Zimbabwe's eight-year political and economic crisis by
facilitating dialogue between the MDC and ZANU PF.

The Zimbabwean political parties have held several rounds of talks and last
month agreed constitutional reforms that will see parliamentary elections
brought forward by two years and to be held together with presidential
elections in 2008.

Mbeki last Friday told a joint Press conference with visiting German
Chancellor Angela Merkel that his mediation in Zimbabwe was making good
progress.

Mbeki, often criticised for his "quiet diplomacy" policy under which the
South African leader has refused to publicly censure Mugabe, has in the past
insisted that talks between ZANU PF and the MDC will see Zimbabwe conducting
free and fair elections next year.

But analysts say Mbeki should urge Mugabe to level the political field and
repeal tough security and press laws that have hampered the opposition from
carrying out its political work if next year's polls are to be free and
fair.

Meanwhile, the MDC on Wednesday demanded compensation after the state
withdrew terrorism charges against dozens of its activists who spent nearly
four months in jail.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the case against the activists was
politically motivated and the withdrawal of charges was proof that "from the
very beginning, the case did not hold water."

The decision to dismiss the case against the 15 MDC activists, including
parliamentarian Paul Madzore, was made after magistrates had earlier quashed
charges against another 17 party activists who were all rounded up in early
March and refused bail until June.

"We are definitely pressing for compensation," said Chamisa. "Some of them
lost their jobs. Some of them are maimed for life, some of them were
detained for four months, which is as good as serving a jail term when they
had no case to answer," he added.

State prosecutors had claimed that some of the detained MDC activists
underwent military training in neighbouring South Africa and planned to
overthrow Mugabe's government - charges the state could not sustain in
court. - ZimOnline

Civic group begins voter education in rural areas

Zim Online

Thursday 11 October 2007

By Simplisio Chirinda

HARARE - A Zimbabwean political pressure group says it has begun an exercise
to educate and enlighten voters in rural areas that are the backbone of
support for President Robert Mugabe and his government.

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition  (CZC) says the campaign that began last
weekend in the eastern Mtoko rural district will make use of music and other
forms of pop culture to raise awareness among villagers and the youths on
issues related to voting and elections.

CZC is a coalition of human and civic rights groups, churches, women's
groups, the labour and the student movements campaigning for a democratic
settlement to Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis.

Coalition's coordinator Jacob Mafume said: "It is essentially an exercise to
look for alternative forms of communication to raise awareness on election
issues.

"We want to use music, dance and street comic to teach people on how they
can go about it in elections but the ultimate goal is to make sure that the
rural electorate knows their rights when it comes to voting."

Rural constituencies have traditionally voted for Mugabe and ZANU PF and are
expected to do so again in presidential and parliamentary elections next
year despite a worsening economic crisis and food shortages gripping
Zimbabwe.

ZANU PF attributes support from rural voters to what it says are its
pro-poor policies and a long association with the villagers who backed its
guerrillas during the 1970s war of Zimbabwe's independence. However, some
analysts say the ruling party has also largely benefited from some rural
voters' ignorance about their rights.

Mafume said CZC campaign was aimed at educating voters about their rights
only and not canvassing for support for any political party.

He added that a diverse crowd of people attended the music concert at Mtoko
which he described as a "pilot project" to see how the group could inform
and educate voters ahead of next year's polls.

The Harare administration has in the past accused civic groups such as the
CZC of using voter education as a pretext to campaign for the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change party.

However, a law passed by Parliament that would have made it illegal for
civic groups to carry out voter education never made it into the statute
books after Mugabe withheld ascension. - ZimOnline

ZANU PF chairman seizes farm in fresh wave of invasions

Zim Online

Thursday 11 October 2007

By Regerai Marwezu

MASVINGO - Ruling ZANU PF provincial chairman Retired Major Alex
Mudavanhu has seized a lucrative conservancy in Masvingo triggering fears of
renewed farm seizures following the expiry of a government deadline for
white farmers to vacate their properties.

Mudavanhu, who was accompanied by a group of war veterans, stormed
Swatsfontain Farm at the weekend claiming that the farm now belonged to him
because he was the holder of a 99-year lease granted to him by President
Robert Mugabe's government earlier this year.

The farm, owned by a white commercial farmer Ronny Sparrow, has a
variety of wild animals among them lions, giraffes, impalas and buffaloes.

The seizure of the property followed the expiry of a government
September 30 deadline to white farmers whose properties were listed for
compulsory acquisition to vacate their properties or they would be dragged
to court.

Ten white farmers based in the Chegutu farming district, about 100km
west of Harare, appeared in court earlier this week for refusing to vacate
their properties and growing crops on properties listed for compulsory
acquisition.

Under the Consequential Provisions Act, white farmers whose properties
were listed for compulsory acquisition, had to vacate their properties by 30
September or they would face prosecution.

A defiant Mudavanhu told ZimOnline yesterday that he had taken over
the farm from Sparrow.

"The farm now belongs to me. I am not going to rest until I
effectively take over the property because I have a 99-year lease," said
Mudavanhu, a former senior army officer.

The invasion of the farm comes amid serious divisions within ZANU PF
and the government over continuing disturbances in Zimbabwe's agricultural
sector, the backbone of the country's economy.

Vice-President Joseph Msika last month pleaded with army commander
Constantine Chiwenga to stop soldiers from invading white farms saying the
move was detrimental to the country's economic recovery efforts.

There have also been concerns that newly resettled black farmers did
not have the necessary skills to run conservancies, a fairly new area for
most black farmers.

Masvingo provincial governor Willard Chiwewe, who chairs the
provincial committee on land allocation, refused to comment on the matter
when contacted by ZimOnline yesterday.

But war veterans who spearheaded the violent seizure of white
properties about seven years ago, said they were targeting several farms
still owned by whites in Masvingo promising to invade more farms ahead of
next year's presidential and parliamentary elections.

"It has been the duty of war veterans to see to it that the land is
distributed accordingly hence we will occupy more farms so that the majority
who are still landless get their share," said Isaiah Muzenda, the chairman
of war veterans in Masvingo.

Zimbabwe has battled severe food shortages over the past seven years
after Mugabe sanctioned the violent take-over of white farms that produced
the bulk of the country's food needs. - ZimOnline

White Zimbabwean Farmers Prosecuted For Failing to Vacate Farms

VOA

By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
10 October 2007

Zimbabwe's longrunning land reform saga continued Wednesday as at least five
white farmers appeared in court in Karoi to answer charges of occupying land
illegally.

A lawyer for three of them, David Drury, said the cases were remanded to the
end of the month. Drury was set to represent 10 other farmers Thursday in
Chegutu who are similarly accused of violating additional land reform
legislation passed in 2006.

The Zimbabwean government of President Robert Mugabe has been seizing the
land of white farmers since 2000, purportedly to redistribute it to peasants
although most large properties have ended up in the hands of ministers or
other top officials. The parliament passed a constitutional amendment last
year nationalizing all farms.

Some 350 to 400 white farmers continue to pursue agriculture in Zimbabwe,
whose harvests have sharply declined since land reform began. United Nations
agencies estimate more than 4 million people will need food aid by early
2008.

Those accused in the latest cases could face sentences of up to two years in
prison if they are convicted of failing to meet a state deadline to vacate
their farms.

One of the farmers in Karoi, Mashonaland West, was evicted from his farm on
Saturday, despite assurances from government officials that farmers who
complied with the law by downsizing farms had a chance of remaining on their
property.

Andrew Stardoff said he reduced his holdings to 400 hectares from 2,000
originally, but that the last 400 hectares were taken over Saturday by an
army major general by the name of N.M. Dube with backing from Didymus
Mutasa, the minister of state security who is also in charge of land reform.

But Stardoff has found allies at top levels of the government, including
Vice President Joseph Msika and Minister of State for Policy Implementation
Webster Shamu, while Karoi community leaders have also been supporting him.

In an interview, Stardoff told reporter Carole Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7
for Zimbabwe that armed guards now surround his farm, leaving him homeless.

Under Public Pressure, Zimbabwe Teachers Union Suspends Strike

VOA

By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
10 October 2007

Top officials of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe met with members
in the capital, Harare, on Wednesday afternoon, and resolved that teachers
belonging to the union should end a strike and return to work pending a
review of strategy.

The union, which launched a strike four weeks ago, said it wants to put
children first and earn the trust of parents while seeking increased
compensation.

The PTUZ said last week that it would remains on strike after the Zimbabwe
Teachers Association, a rival organization closer to the government,
accepted an offer from Harare for a 422% pay increase and told its members
to return to work.

Grade seven pupils started writing examinations Monday amid widespread
teacher absenteeism and much confusion, with some pupils failing to report
as well.

Soldiers and school heads were said to be serving as exam monitors, or
invigilators as they are known in Zimbabwe. Form four exams were set to
begin next week, raising the stakes for students and striking teachers
risking a loss of public support.

PTUZ General Secretary Raymond Majongwe told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of
VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that teachers would be heading back to their
classrooms pending a thorough review of strategy by the union's leadership

Lack of funds stumps African Parliament mission to Zim

Mail and Guardian

Johannesburg, South Africa

10 October 2007 05:28

      A controversial mission by the Pan African Parliament (PAP) to
Zimbabwe to assess the situation in that country did not take place because
of a lack of funds, PAP president Gertrude Mongella said on Wednesday.

      The decision on whether the fact-finding mission should still go
ahead would be made during the Parliament's session next week.

      "There are other developments taking place, namely the [South
African President Thabo] Mbeki initiative, which I suspect have resulted in
the dialogue that is now going on between the conflicting parties," Mongella
said.

      Speaking ahead of the second sitting of Parliament, which will
take place from October 15, Mongella said her personal view was that the
mission was no longer needed.

      She said while the parliamentarians would decide on the best way
to proceed, a possible next step could be to send an observer mission to
Zimbabwe for the elections scheduled to take place next year.

      "If the election is properly done we are sure most of the
problems of Zimbabwe would be resolved," she said.

       During the first session of Parliament in May delegates, in an
unprecedented poll by a show of hands, overwhelming voted to send a
fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe.

      At the time Joram Gumbo, a Zanu-PF delegate to the PAP, said he
and other ruling-party delegates had tried but failed to block a resolution.

      He dismissed PAP as just a noise-making organisation and said
Harare had the power to prevent it from coming to the country.

      This threat seemed unnecessary as PAP has up to October only
received half of its $12,2-million budget from the African Union. Mongella
said the fact that the mission was not sent as originally planned did not
bring into question PAP's credibility.

       "Is there any institution which came out openly to discuss the
Zimbabwe issue [as we did]? That already gives us credibility," she said. -- 
Sapa

Zimbabwe to import 30 000 tonnes of wheat

Mail and Guardian

Harare, Zimbabwe

10 October 2007 12:44

      Zimbabwe will import 30 000 tonnes of wheat from its neighbours
in a bid to ease widespread bread shortages of bread, the agriculture
minister has announced, according to the state daily.

      Agriculture Minister Rugare Gumbo was quoted in the
government-mouthpiece Herald newspaper as saying 2 000 tonnes had so far
been delivered while the bulk of 30 000 tonnes was expected "anytime soon
from now".

      "The government is trying its level best to bring in more wheat
into the country and make sure that bakeries are supplied with enough flour
very soon," Gumbo said.

      The paper did not specify which countries would supply the wheat
but Zimbabwe has previously imported from Southern and East African
countries such as Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania.

      Several major bakers have suspended or scaled down operations
after a critical shortage of wheat across a nation in the throes of deep
economic crisis.

       There are shortages of other basic foodstuffs like cooking oil
and the staple cornmeal, while at least 80% of the population is living
below the poverty threshold.

      Bread is the most affordable food for poor families who often
resort to skipping some meals to stretch their incomes to the next payday.

      The Southern African country has faced critical shortages of
bread since the state distributor, the Grain Marketing Board, failed to
supply enough wheat to bakers because of poor harvests.

      Zimbabwe's annual wheat requirement is about 400 000 tonnes but
there has been a consistent deficit since land reforms initiated in 2000 led
to the departure of about 4 000 white farmers and triggered a slide in
output.

      Last month, the Southern African country imported at least 1 000
tonnes of wheat from Mozambique.

      The consignment had earlier been held in Mozambique over debts
owed to an unnamed foreign supplier. -- AFP

Harare families survive on a single meal per day

Zim Online

Wednesday 10 October 2007

      By Thulani Munda

      HARARE - Most families of Harare's nearly two million residents were
surviving on one meal a day and malnutrition is on the rise in the
Zimbabwean capital, a city nutritionist said on Tuesday.

      City nutrition specialist Clare Zunguza told Parliament's special
committee on health and child welfare that most families were having only
one meal a day due to shortages of food or prohibitive costs when it is
available in shops.

      "Most families are not eating anything in the morning and afternoon
and only having one meal in the evening hence malnutrition is now prevalent
in Harare," she said.

      Chronic malnutrition had become common among children with at least 30
percent of those under the age of five malnourished, said Zunguza, who
called for the introduction of supplementary feeding schemes at primary
schools where Grade One pupils were the worst affected by hunger.

      Feeding schemes were currently underway in the low-income suburbs of
Hatcliffe, Mabvuku and Tafara, said Zunguza.

      "Shortage of nutrients among pregnant women in high-density suburbs is
on the increase resulting in them giving birth to underweight children who
are at risk of developing complications and infections," she said.

      HIV and AIDS patients were not being spared with three quarters of
families headed by chronically ill parents reported to be food insecure,
Zunguza said, noting that supplementary feeding schemes were often directed
at rural populations when communities in those areas could share food unlike
in urban areas.

      Once southern Africa's breadbasket, Zimbabwe has grappled severe food
shortages over the past seven years due to persistent drought and a chaotic
land reform programme that saw President Robert Mugabe's government seize
white farms, that produced the bulk of the country's food needs, for
redistribution to landless blacks.

      The disclosure of severe food shortages and rising malnutrition in
Harare comes hard on the heels of last week's warning by the United
States-based Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) that up to 40
percent of Zimbabwe's rural population will need urgent food aid between
October and next March to avert starvation.

      FEWSNET warned of massive food insecurity in the south and west of the
country as well as in urban areas during the next six months unless the
government improved its maize import plan and there is a lot of movement on
humanitarian food aid programmes announced recently.

      The cash-strapped Harare government has said it will this year import
400 000 tonnes of maize from Malawi and a further 200 000 tonnes from
Tanzania to cover the national shortfall.

      However, a serious shortage of foreign currency is hampering efforts
to import food, forcing the Zimbabwean government to resort to barter trade
to secure maize supplies from Malawi.

      Responding to a question by committee chairperson Blessing Chebundo on
whether there had been any deaths associated with malnutrition recorded in
the capital, acting city health director Stanley Mungofa said no such cases
had been reported.

      Meanwhile, Mungofa bemoaned shortages of water in Harare and its
environs particularly in high-density suburbs saying these were creating a
breeding space for disease such as cholera although he claimed no cases had
been reported yet.

      Mungofa, a trained medical doctor, said cases of diarrhea were on the
increase in high-density suburbs of Budiriro, Glen View and Mufakose due to
shortages of water.

      "We have had increases which are above what we normally see," he said,
adding that water and blood diarrhea were common.

      Scabby and other skin conditions were also on the increase in these
areas, he said.

      The shortage of food is only an addition on a long list of problems
facing Zimbabwe as the country grapples with an economic recession described
by the World Bank as the worst in the world outside a war zone. - ZimOnline

Students in hiding over harshly worded petition to Mugabe

Zim Online

Wednesday 10 October 2007

By Nqobizitha Khumalo

BULAWAYO - Student leaders at the National University of Science and
Technology (NUST) have gone into hiding after state security agents
reportedly stormed the campus in reaction to a harshly worded petition that
was sent to President Robert Mugabe on Monday.

In the petition, the student leaders expressed concern at the deteriorating
standards at the state-run university adding that Mugabe, who is the
chancellor of the university, would be capping "half-baked students" at a
graduation ceremony scheduled for this Friday.

The petition is reported to have angered state security agents who are
feared for their brutal tactics in suppressing dissension against Mugabe.
The state agents are said to have launched a massive manhunt for the student
leaders.

Students who spoke to ZimOnline yesterday said the entire student leadership
at NUST had gone into hiding with several having fled the city in fear for
their lives.

Hundreds of students at state-run universities have in the past been at the
receiving end of state brutality after attempting to stage demonstrations
demanding an improvement in their payouts and infrastructure.

"State security agents have been visiting the campus enquiring on the
whereabouts of the student leaders but the student leaders have gone into
hiding and none of them has been seen since the petition was sent to
President Mugabe," a student at the university said yesterday.

In the petition that was signed by NUST Student Representative Council
President Clever Bere, the students said hundreds of students at the
university were spending days on end without proper meals, apart from
battling high tuition fees, a critical shortage of accommodation and a mass
exodus of lecturers as well as a shortage of books and learning equipment.

"On the 12th of October 2007, you will be capping half-baked graduands at
the 13th Graduation Ceremony at NUST who only attended lectures for less
than 30 percent of their stipulated learning time. This was because of your
government's failure to address the multi-faceted socio-economic and
political crisis bedeviling our beloved Zimbabwe," read part of the
petition.

"We would like to remind you that the Library at NUST is still under
construction and the university is 25 percent complete 17 years after its
establishment. 2007 will be remembered as the year when students just went
for exams without learning as lecturers were on strike.

"We are gravely concerned by your governments' treatment of student
activists and human rights defenders. Thousands of students are either
expelled, suspended, arbitrarily arrested, detained tortured or killed for
demanding better education," said the students.

State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa could not be reached for comment on
the matter last night. - ZimOnline

Zimbabwe's high inflation rate worries SA bank chief

Zim Online

Wednesday 10 October 2007

Own Correspondent

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's central bank chief Tito Mboweni on Tuesday
said he was worried by the effect of Zimbabwe's record-high inflation on the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) economy.

Mboweni was addressing about 200 senior banking officials at an
international banking conference at Sun City in North West province.

Mboweni said SADC inflation without Zimbabwe would be around 9 percent but
would be around 332 percent if the troubled southern African country was
included.

"It is very clear that we do have serious issues arising from what our
colleagues are facing in Zimbabwe," said Mboweni. "There is a problem and
they must deal with the problem."

Zimbabwe is in the grip of a severe economic crisis that has manifested
itself in the world's highest inflation rate of over 6 500 percent,
widespread unemployment and rising poverty.

Mboweni is among the few leaders in South Africa who have spoken up over
Zimbabwe's eight-year economic crisis.

President Thabo Mbeki's government has consistently pursued a policy of
"quiet diplomacy" towards Harare and refused to openly criticize President
Robert Mugabe's administration in Harare.

Mboweni said his colleagues as the central bank in Harare were "doing what
they can in a very difficult situation".

"I have a high regard for the Governor (of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
Gideon Gono) and his staff. You will be surprised at the level and depth of
talent at the central bank of Zimbabwe.

"They are doing their best and they are highly professional people," he
said.

Mboweni said Africa was still a long way from setting up an African Central
Bank and a common currency for the continent given the vast disparities in
resources around the continent.

SADC has been pushing to have a common monetary union by 2016.

"The political leadership must think carefully of who qualifies to be
included in the union - it mustn't be based on brotherhood and sisterhood -
that doesn't work. It has a limit," said Mboweni. - ZimOnline

Zimbabwe Opposition Leader Tsvangirai Urges International Action

VOA

      By Patience Rusere, Carole Gombakomba & Jonga Kandemiiri
      Washington
      09 October 2007

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, on a U.S. university
speaking tour, called on the international community to take action to
prevent a humanitarian disaster in Zimbabwe where an increasing number of
people need food assistance.

Tsvangirai, founding president of the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change, issued the appeal in an interview Monday with the Houston Chronicle
newspaper. He was set to address a forum at the University of St Thomas in
Houston on Tuesday  evening before traveling on to New York, Philadelphia
and Canada.

Traveling with Tsvangirai is former parliamentarian Roy Bennett, South
African-based treasurer for the Tsvangirai faction of the MDC. Bennett spent
eight months in prison in 2005-06 serving a sentence imposed on him by the
ruling party-controlled house for scuffling on the floor of parliament with
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa.

The two men met Sunday in Dallas with the local branch of their opposition
party.

Deputy Chief U.S. Representative Ralph Black of Tsvangirai's faction told
reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Tsvangirai is
not meeting with U.S. officials on this trip - only with members of the
party and the diaspora.

At home, meanwhile, Tsvangirai's opposition faction denied reports that the
leader of the formation's women's assembly, Lucia Matibenga, was sacked. The
government-run Herald newspaper reported Tuesday that Matibenga had a
falling out with the party leadership, upon which party chiefs dissolved the
women's grouping.

The Herald said the alleged firing was the "latest wave of division" in the
opposition. The MDC split in late 2005 over whether to contest elections for
a new senate.

MDC National Chairman Lovemore Moyo denied there was a rift, telling
reporter Carole Gombakomba that the faction had not singled out Matibenga
but decided to dissolve the Women's Assembly after auditors turned up
financial irregularities.

Matibenga said she could not comment because had not yet received any
official communication from the party on the decision reported Tuesday in
the Herald.

Separately, the Tsvangirai faction said the state's withdrawal Monday of
charges against activists held for months earlier this year on charges they
carried out violent attacks proved the government is desperate to undermine
the opposition.

Party Secretary General Tendai Biti said the formation suffered greatly
between March and July when about 30 officials and activists were held in
Harare remand jail on serious charges including banditry and sabotage.

Prosecutor Tawanda Zvekare told Harare magistrate Kudakwashe Jarabini that
the state was withdrawing the charges though it might later issue summonses.

Biti told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the
decision by the state prosecutor showed that the cases were trumped up.

Zimbabwe opposition demands compensation for freed activists

Yahoo News

Wed Oct 10, 7:44 AM ET

HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change
demanded compensation Wednesday after terrorism charges were dropped against
dozens of activists who spent nearly four months in custody.

"We are definitely pressing for compensation," Nelson Chamisa, a spokesman
for the main MDC faction, said another group of 15 party members had their
case struck off by a Harare magistrate on Monday.

The decision to dismiss the case against the 15, including lawmaker Paul
Madzore, was made after magistrates had earlier quashed charges against
another 17 MDC activists who were all rounded up in early March and refused
bail until June.

"Some of them lost their jobs. Some of them are maimed for life, some of
them were detained for four months which is as good as serving a jail term
when they had no case to answer," Chamisa told AFP.

The spokesman said the arrests were part of a ploy to destroy the party
which has posed the stiffest challenge to veteran president Robert Mugabe's
27-year-rule.

"The fact that the court has withdrawn charges against these men clearly
shows that from the very beginning the case did not hold water," he said.

"It is a politically motivated strategy to decimate the opposition. We have
been vindicated and the truth has come out that we are the victims not
perpetrators of violence as (the ruling) ZANU-PF would like the world to
believe."

The MDC supporters and officials were rounded up in raids in March when the
police claimed to have thwarted plans for a campaign of petrol-bombings.

The arrests came days after security forces broke up a planned opposition
rally and assaulted MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and scores of supporters
and party officials.

State prosecutors claimed some of the detained MDC activists underwent
military training in neighbouring South Africa and planned to unseat Mugabe,
83, who has been in power since the nation's independence in 1980.

One activist still remains in custody after police said they were still
investigating him in connection with the alleged fire bombings.

Several People Hurt in Fresh Chipinge Unrest

SW Radio Africa (London)

10 October 2007
Posted to the web 10 October 2007

Tichaona Sibanda

At least 10 MDC supporters have been injured and several had their houses
and cars damaged in Chipinge in a fresh wave of violence reportedly ignited
by Zanu-PF councillors in the southeastern district.

Trouble started when a local Zanu-PF councillor for ward one stormed the
Gaza business centre on Saturday and tried to disperse the over 300 MDC
supporters attending a rally that had been sanctioned by the police.

A primary school teacher from Musirizwi, Remigio Bundo, has now been
suspended pending dismissal after being seen wearing an MDC t-shirt at the
rally. According to Godfrey Chenjerai, the MDC district chairman for
Chipinge north, half of the 35 Zanu-PF councillors in Chipinge are also
headmasters or teachers. Some work for government institutions.

Chenjerai said disturbances on Saturday were ignited by a Zanu-PF councillor
known as Mbandure, who used abusive language to try and disperse MDC
supporters so he could have his birthday celebrations at the same venue.

'Surprisingly Mbandure was born in February, but wanted to celebrate his
birthday on the 6th October. We knew he just wanted to disrupt our rally and
pointed out to him that we had police clearance. Harsh words were exchanged
and we decided to carry on with our rally and Mbandure went his way,'
Chenjerai said.

Unknown to the opposition supporters, Mbandure is alleged to have rallied
his supporters who armed themselves with sticks, stones and bottles and went
on a rampage, indiscriminately attacking people in the area. No arrests were
made after the attacks.

Bitter MDC supporters took revenge on Mbandure when they beat and left him
badly bruised on Monday. Police arrested MDC supporter Charles Nyathi who
has spent the last two nights in police cells. Chenjerai said the police
were quick to make an MDC arrest but they failed to question anyone from
Zanu-PF about the weekend violence.

'The law is being applied selectively here, but people don't care anymore
and have vowed to hit back when attacked. We have reached a point where we
have decided to defend ourselves,' Chenjerai said.

This is not the first time that Chipinge has been rocked by violence. Three
weeks ago, scores of terrified people were sent packing in political
violence that resulted in the arrest and assault of opposition MDC
activists.

Political tensions have been on the rise in Chipinge since the beginning of
last month when the MDC held successful rallies in the district. The MDC has
accused the head of the Central Intelligence Organisation in Chipinge town,
Joseph Chiminya, and almost all Zanu-PF councillors for orchestrating the
violence.

The attacks, which first began in Ngaone north of Chipinge town, have now
spread to areas in Tanganda and outlining border areas of Mount Selinda and
Rusitu. These areas are right on the border with Mozambique.

Every time the MDC organizes a rally now, state security agents are taking
over the venue and start distributing maize. Known MDC activists are
forbidden from getting near these distribution points.

Student's Health Deteriorates As He Enters Second Week in Custody

SW Radio Africa (London)

10 October 2007
Posted to the web 10 October 2007

Henry Makiwa

The Zimbabwe Students Union (Zinasu) has raised alarm bells over the health
and continued detention of Edison Hlatshwayo, the secretary general for the
students union at the Great Zimbabwe University.

Hlatshwayo was arrested a fortnight ago by Masvingo police while attending a
public meeting organized by the Zimbabwe Youth Forum at Charles Austin
theatre hall. He was arrested on allegations of malicious injury to property
and assault. A magistrate in the city refused him bail arguing that the
state was still hunting for more students following student clashes with the
police.

Students activists on Wednesday said Hlatshwayo's health was fast
deteriorating as he was being denied food and access to lawyers by the
police.

Student leader Mehli Dube of the National University for Science and
Technology (Nust) described Hlatshwayo's condition as worrying.

He said: "Our leadership has been to see him recently and we are concerned
about the squalid conditions he is living and the denial of food and legal
aid they have put over him.

"The ploy by the Mugabe regime is obviously very deliberate and aims to
dampen the students' justified right to question anomalies in the country's
education system. They want to intimidate us into submission by arrests and
beatings and, as we speak, we understand they are hunting down some of our
members."

Meanwhile in Bulawayo, police arrested two student activists in a swoop on a
students general meeting Tuesday.

Themba Maphenduka and Vananceo Jachi were taken into custody and a manhunt
has been launched as police and security details seek to arrest Langalihle
Manyani, the Vice-President of the Students Christian Movement of Zimbabwe
and Cynthia Manjoro, who recently completed her internship with the Media
Institute of Southern Africa. Student Samson Nxumalo has also been forced
into hiding.

No to silent persecution of women, Kwinjeh tells MDC

zimbabwejournalists.com

10th Oct 2007 15:43 GMT

By Grace Kwinjeh

MDC - no more

The Standing Committee of Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
has just suspended its women's league leadership in a top-down coup. This
makes me step back and consider two views of women's liberation.

'The emancipation of women is not an act of charity, the result of a
humanitarian or compassionate attitude. The liberation of women is a
fundamental necessity for the revolution, the guarantee of its continuity
and the precondition for its victory', said Samora Machel, the founder of
liberated Mozambique.

For Machel, 'to destroy the system of exploitation and build a new society
which releases the potential of human beings. is the context within which
women's emancipation arises.'

Here is another context and quotation: 'Feminism is the radical notion that
women own their vaginas', according to an anonymous sister, with vagina
meaning an expression of feminism, womanhood, strength, resilience,
struggle, as well as our body and reproductive capacity.

The female body is a site of struggle which is why in war situations,
opposing parties take pride in raping women. A Congolese feminist, Christine
Schuler Deschryver , estimates that in the conflict-ridden eastern DRC,
'more than 200,000 women, children and babies are being raped every day, and
right now, thousands of women and children are being taken into forests as
sex slaves."

In Zimbabwe, where I was jailed and tortured for peacefully participating in
a protest last March, patriarchy has resulted in some democracy activists
temporarily losing the value system that helped us to stand against Robert
Mugabe's tyranny in the first place. We are seeing regular instances of
sexism and misogyny, sadly perpetrated by would-be liberators whose
leadership is now marked by moral decadence.

Sexism is immoral and should be treated as such.

We would have short changed ourselves as women if we agree to yet another
reproduction of the debauchery, unfairness and inequality that we inherited
at independence, and that soon reared its head in Mugabe's ruling party he
authorised mass arrests of women for being on the street alone at night in
1982.

That which united democrats in civil society and the MDC when we went to
battle against Mugabe's regime was a common understanding of what we want to
achieve in a new Zimbabwe. That included a clear vision of the positioning
and placing of women, who have endured decades of patriarchal oppression
passed on like a baton stick from one system to another, from the settler
colonialists to the nationalists - and now sadly to the present-day
liberators.

Even before the MDC was formed eight years ago, Zimbabwean women made great
strides in fighting for their emancipation. We took on Mugabe before the
boys even woke up to their own oppression. The women's struggle was led by
women like Everjoice Win, Shereen Essof, Priscilla Misihairabwi, Nancy
Kachingwe, Yvonne Mahlunge, Isabella Matambanadzo, Thoko Matshe, Janah
Ncube, Lydia Zigomo, Rudo Kwaramba, and Sekai Holland, fellow torture
survivor and head of the Association of Women's Clubs.

Our first fight was for recognition as equal human beings to our male
counterparts. The Legal Age of Majority Act now recognises us as adults, we
can vote, open bank accounts and even marry should we choose to - none of
which were possible without the consent of a male connection, be it brother
father or uncle. We were perpetual minors.

The Matrimonial Causes Act now recognises our right to own property
independently of our husbands or fathers. After we challenged physical
abuse, parliament passed the Domestic Violence Act. This background made
some of us suitable candidates for leadership in the MDC.

At what point, then, did we women become minors once again, answerable to
male authority, becoming subjects of agendas that have nothing to do with
our empowerment or liberation for that matter? With the MDC's attack on its
women's league, we are relegated once again to second class citizen
position.

The first contact women like Lucia Matibenga (former head of the MDC women's
league), Sekai Holland and myself have with our bodies each morning after we
wake up and take a bath, is the scarring inflicted by Mugabe's police.

These scars are deep, physical and psychological, but their political
significance is that they can be the source of our liberation. They are our
badges of honour, marking us as comrades who have been on the frontline
facing the enemy head on.

Zanu PF has a military history and what Mugabe calls 'degrees in violence'
that we all know of. However, we have been too slow to address other forms
of violence perpetrated against us by our brothers in the democratic
movement.

We are told by MDC men, 'It is taboo, it causes unnecessary confusion,
divisions, we have one enemy'. If we keep believing this, it means that like
our sisters in Zanu Pf we may find ourselves on the eve of independence in
the same position they were in at Lancaster House.

Their leading woman in the state, Joyce Mujuru, was suddenly elevated to
Vice President but served merely as a place holder, for as the succession
battle rages it is clear she is not Mugabe's natural successor. She has not
pushed any women's agenda beyond party politics and sloganeering.

Everjoice Win, gender officer at ActionAid, insists that we will not unite
with Mujuru for the sake of biology. Having a vagina does not necessarily
mean we are the same.

Says Win, 'Whatever "deal" is worked out to resolve Zimbabwe's crisis, women
and their rights should be at the centre of it. We want feminists-women who
care about the rights of other women and who are prepared to rock the
patriarchal boat-to be in leadership positions and to be there when the deal
is made'.

But of the top six dealmakers from two MDC factions and the government, only
one is a woman.

For a long time, women have been bashed into silence: 'If you speak out he
will beat you up more'. Yet whether we speak or not we still take a beating.
Now, at what may become a time of renewed patriarchy under the mantle of the
democratic opposition, it is a historical obligation for any woman to stand
up against the kind of bigotry that is being forced on us, even by our own
brothers in the new liberation movement, a movement still not mature enough
to treat us with respect.

Grace Kwinjeh is a leading opposition activist with the MDC and writes this
article as Visiting Scholar with the Center for Civil Society.

Zim women speak of torture camp

From AFP, 10 October

Women are being regularly tortured and sexually abused by Zimbabwean
security forces for their opposition to President Robert Mugabe's regime, a
new report by a leading rights group charged on Tuesday. "Many of us have
been detained more than once and suffered extreme abuse perpetrated by state
actors," Jenni Williams, national coordinator of Women of Zimbabwe Arise
(Woza), said at the launch of the report in Johannesburg. "Police threats,
insults by police officer, unlawful detention and humiliating and degrading
treatment were all reported with high frequency but assaults, psychological
torture and physical torture were also very high." Williams said that
three-quarters of the Woza members that were surveyed said they had
experienced insults and humiliating and degrading treatment, while half have
suffered assaults and psychological torture. "Forty percent have suffered
physical torture and 50 percent were detained longer than the statutory
limit of 48 hours without being brought to court."

Among those present at the launch in South Africa, which is now home to
hundreds of thousands of Zimbabwean immigrants, was Woza activist Clarah
Makoni who broke down in tears as she related her ordeal in April when she
went to deliver food to friends taking part in a protest over elecricity
shortages. "I was scared, very scared. I have never seen such animosity,"
the 19-year-old from Harare told AFP. "I was beaten, kicked and tortured by
the police... After several hours I was told to report at the police station
the following day as they could not arrest me due to my age. When I went
again I was beaten and tortured again till I fell sick. I was taken to (the
southern city of) Bulawayo where they torture people (Fairbridge torture
camp) where the torture continued for hours. I was whipped while lying on my
stomach. They then put me in a room full of ice." The teenager was then
ordered to cross an electric fence before having to make her way back home,
a journey of more than 400 kilometres. The Mugabe regime, subject to
sanctions by the European Union and United States, has been regularly
criticised over its treatment of its opponents. Main opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai was among a group of dozens of activists who were
assaulted as they tried to attend a prayer rally earlier this year.

Zimbabwe Election Watch - Sokwanele

Zimbabwe Election Watch
Issue 8 : 9 October 2007

Executive Summary

Expectations generated by the South African mediated talks that Zimbabwean voters would be registered to create a new and transparent voters' roll before the elections in March next year were dealt a blow last week by Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa.

Chinamasa said there would be no re-registration of voters to create ward-specific voters' rolls. In response, stakeholders said the proposed system would prejudice many voters as the delimitation exercise was yet to start.

According to a Zimbabwean commentator, even if the electoral laws are changed, it is impossible to hold democratic elections unless the environment allows all parties to campaign freely in a climate of political tolerance.

Faced with escalating reports of ruling party militants unleashing terror in rural areas and creating no-go zones, the Movement For Democratic Change (MDC) elections secretary Ian Makone says there is no prospect of elections being free and fair in these areas.

In Chipinge, where the MDC has held successful rallies, scores of terrified people have fled the district due to fresh political violence. This has led to the arrest and assault of MDC activists, one of whom is reportedly battling for his life.

In Mutare, police disrupted a public meeting organised by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) to discuss the forthcoming election. Security police stormed the venue where former Zanu PF stalwart Edgar Tekere had launched a blistering attack on Mugabe's human rights record and harassment of the opposition.

The victimisation of student leaders has intensified and a Youth Forum public meeting in Masvingo was disrupted by government militia, leading to bloody clashes. The police reacted by arresting youths from the civic organisations.

A Zanu PF ward chairperson in the Headlands area deliberately started a fire which destroyed eight cottages on a plot belonging to the MDC chairlady for the Headlands ward. The cottages accommodated victims of Operation Murambatsvina who were once again rendered homeless.

In their August report, the human rights monitoring group, Zimbabwe Peace Project, confirmed that cases of politically-inspired violence had increased, while space for the church and civil society continued to shrink.

The government maintains its monopoly of the airwaves through a previous law giving ownership of all radio and television frequencies to the state broadcaster. Opposition parties are denied access.

Even if liberalised media laws are in place by end October, commentators stress it will take time to set up a free daily press and develop a non-partisan broadcaster.

Ironically, the state media recently imposed a blackout on the activities of Ray Kaukonde, governor of Mashonaland East province. Kaukonde is part of a powerful Zanu PF faction that is pushing for Mugabe's ousting from power.

The Swedish Cooperative Centre has published a damning report on the manipulation of food aid by the Mugabe government: "Be loyal - or starve". The organisation is demanding the creation of an independent food observer force to ensure that food reaches those in most need.

An extraordinary top-secret security document leaked to the media reveals a carefully manipulated plan designed to destroy the reputation of outspoken cleric Archbishop Pius Ncube.

And finally, even members of theatre groups are not immune from government paranoia. Two actors and a journalist who challenged their arrest for staging a play about the country's political crisis were arrested by Harare police.

• 2.1.6: Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for
• 4.1.4: Existence of updated and accessible voters roll;
• 7.2: [The member state holding elections shall] Establish where none exist, appropriate institutions where issues such as ... would be addressed;
• 7.5: [The member state holding elections shall] Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging…
• 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …

• 2.1.1: Full participation of the citizens in the political process;
• 2.1.2: Freedom of association;
• 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
• 2.1.6: Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for
• 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
• 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
• 7.5: [The member state holding elections shall] Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging…

• 2.1.1: Full participation of the citizens in the political process;
• 2.1.2: Freedom of association;
• 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
• 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
• 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4: [The member state holding elections sh] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
• 7.7: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure that adequate security is provided to all parties participating in elections;all

• 2.1.1: Full participation of the citizens in the political process;
• 2.1.2: Freedom of association;
• 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
• 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
• 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …

• 2.1.2: Freedom of association;
• 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
• 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
• 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
• 7.9: [The member state holding elections shall] Encourage the participation of women, disabled and youth in all aspects of the electoral process …

• 2.1.2: Freedom of association;
• 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
• 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
• 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
• 7.5: [The member state holding elections shall] Take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging…

• 2.1.1: Full participation of the citizens in the political process;
• 2.1.2: Freedom of association;
• 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
• 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
• 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
• 7.7: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure that adequate security is provided to all parties participating in elections;

• 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
• 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …

• 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
• 2.1.5: Equal access to state media for all political parties
• 2.1.6: Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for
• 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
• 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …

• 2.1.2: Freedom of association;
• 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
• 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …

• 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
• 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …
• 7.8: [The member state holding elections shall] Ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process …

• 2.1.2: Freedom of association;
• 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
• 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
• 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …

• 2.1.1: Full participation of the citizens in the political process;
• 2.1.2: Freedom of association;
• 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
• 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
• 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …

• 2.1.1: Full participation of the citizens in the political process;
• 2.1.3: Political tolerance;
• 4.1.1: Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of citizens
• 4.1.2: Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
• 7.4: [The member state holding elections shall] Safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens …

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Sekai Holland Speaks On The End Game In Zimbabwe

Scoop, New Zealand

Wednesday, 10 October 2007, 10:01 am
Press Release: Save Zimbabwe

End Game in Zimbabwe
On 11 March 2007 Sekai Holland, 64-year-old grandmother and member of the
opposition party MDC (Movement for Democratic Change), was beaten and
tortured by the Zimbabwean police. For challenging the power of the despotic
ruler Mugabe, she paid with fractures of her left leg, arm and ribs. After
having been evacuated to Australia, Holland receives ongoing medical
treatment for her injuries.

Yet she delivered a powerful speech today at Victoria University of
Wellington announcing an imminent 'End Game in Zimbabwe'.

More than a third of the Zimbabwean population has fled the South African
country. The economic situation is deteriorating at breakneck speed with an
inflation rate approaching 1.5% Million percent that leads to daily
increasing hardship among the population.
The administration under Mugabe has driven Zimbabwe into a dark valley of
disaster; still the president shows no inclination of loosening his grip on
power.

This will change, Holland says. Her party, the MDC, would have already won
elections in 2000 and 2005, if their victory had not been "stolen" by
Mugabe. "We have the support of the people", Holland claimed. As evidence of
its declining power, she listed the regime's failure to expel or suppress
the opposition--for which she stands as a living example.

Adressing exile Zimbabweans, she condemned political apathy and commonly
expressed opinion of an unorganised opposition. "The opposition is there and
we have a determined leadership" Mrs Holland proclaimed, then demanding "If
you are so brilliant and know what to do better, come to Zimbabwe!".

While announcing the imminent end of Mugabe's rule, Sekai Holland
simultaneously predicted the MDC to pull out of ongoing negotiations about
the next election with the government, "if they continue to beat us". In
this case, only a UN intervention could prevent the unfolding of a
humanitarian disaster of similar magnitude to Darfur.

Before holding her fiery speech, Holland had just come from a meeting with
Prime Minister Helen Clark. She pleaded for pardoning of illegal Zimbabwean
immigrants and demanded the expulsion of New Zealand based supporters of the
Mugabe regime by tonight.

ENDS

Zimbabwe doesn't recognize New Zealand: Minister

Monsters and Critics

Oct 10, 2007, 8:20 GMT

Harare - New Zealand is a strange country down under that Zimbabwe does not
recognize, a minister in the African nation's government said Wednesday.

Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga made the remark in response to
calls on Tuesday by New Zealand's Green Party for the country to take a
firmer stand against President Robert Mugabe's government.

'New Zealand is some strange country down under and the majority don't care
whether the party is green or blue, what they are saying is irrelevant to
Zimbabwe,' Matonga said in comments carried in Zimbabwe's official Herald
daily.

Green Party MP Keith Locke on Tuesday referred to Zimbabwe as a disaster
zone, and called on Prime Minister Helen Clark's government to step up
pressure on Harare for a return to the rule of law and democracy.

'Helen Clark should press other Commonwealth leaders, when they meet in
Uganda this November, to take a strong, united stand for a return to
democracy,' Locke said in a statement.

The statement was issued following a visit to New Zealand by Sekai Holland,
a senior official from Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) party and a grandmother who was one of dozens of opposition
officials and activists brutally assaulted by police during a crackdown by
state agents in March.

Holland said on Tuesday that her party, which is currently engaged in talks
with Mugabe's ruling party to try to ease political tensions ahead of
elections next year, would pull out of the dialogue if the ruling party
continued to use violence against the opposition.

'Sekai Holland is a living example of why the world must keep pressing
Zimbabwe to return to the rule of law,' noted Locke.

But Zimbabwe's deputy information minister dismissed the New Zealand MP's
comments, saying Zimbabwe was no longer a member of the Commonwealth.

'She (Holland) is on a fundraising campaign and is saying these things to
please New Zealand but that is a strange country that we never recognize,'
Matonga claimed.

'She is addressing the wrong forum and audience. If she wants to discuss
issues of Zimbabwe, she should approach the government,' Matonga was quoted
as saying.

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

"No chance of fair election in Zim"

The Citizen

CEDRIC MBOYISA
Robert Mugabe's regime is behaving like "a militia or a warlord", and
there is no possibility of free and fair elections next year.
This is according to Zimbabwean women who have been repeatedly
arrested and tortured by Mugabe's security force.
"There is sustained repression in Zimbabwe. Free and fair elections
cannot be held," said Jenni Williams, co-founder of Women of Zimbabwe Arise
or Woza (an apolitical social justice movement) at a Press briefing
yesterday in Johannesburg.
Williams - who has been arrested 25 times - added: "Woza has often
been the target of unprovoked violence."
A preliminary report on political violence against Woza members paints
a shocking picture about acts of suppression perpetrated by Zimbabwe police.
Assault, abduction or kidnapping, political threats, rape, forced
removal of underwear while in custody, unlawful detention and psychological
and physical torture were some of the abuses the Woza women were subjected
to, the report revealed.
Recounting her ordeal, a tearful Clarah Makoni, 19, said she had been
arrested twice and was beaten severely on her back and threatened with
electrical torture.
Arnold Tsunga, of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, said: "The Mugabe
regime has become so dangerous to its citizens. Government there is acting
like a militia or a warlord.
"The perpetrators are police, using state machinery to torment women."
He added it was unfortunate that Mugabe had the blessing of African
leaders in his clampdown on organisations he deemed opponents.
Williams called on SADC leaders to recognise the human rights
violations . - cedricm@citizen.co.za.

 Last updated  10/10/2007 11:07:36

Tito warns of African 'laughing stock'

Business Day

10 October 2007

Regis Nyamakanga

Financial Services Editor

SUN CITY - Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni said yesterday that African
leaders risked reducing themselves to "a laughing stock" if they pressed
ahead with plans for an African central bank (ACB) and a common currency for
the continent - against the advice of technocrats. He warned that the idea
was bound to flounder like other failed grand African plans.

Mboweni was speaking about a mooted common economic and monetary union for
Africa at a three-day international banking conference in Sun City. He said
African central bank chiefs had proposed the need to achieve macroeconomic
convergence on the continent before a continental central bank and common
currency could be considered, but this had been ignored by the political
leadership of the African Union (AU).

Important changes needed to take place in the structure of most African
economies before monetary integration could happen. These included
increasing economic integration, especially trade, improved transport
networks, diversification of the economies and increased access to developed
markets, he said.

"If we take the convergence criteria into account, we will come to the
conclusion that monetary union is not easy. The challenges are far greater
than the niceties of brotherhood and sisterhood. We cannot just rush to form
the ACB before meeting the basic criteria.

"But the leadership of the AU does not seem to appreciate the advice. The
Association of African Central Banks is being ignored by the AU," he said.

Mboweni said one way of achieving a common currency could be by gradually
expanding existing regional monetary zones such as the Common Monetary Area
and the West African Economic and Monetary Union.

The idea of a common currency for Africa was first discussed by the
Organisation of African Unity , the predecessor of the AU, in 1963. African
leaders see a common currency as "an important symbol of strength and
solidarity" - thus plans are under way to set up the bank as soon as
possible, he said.

"It is possible that we can form an ACB and we think that there might be
benefits in doing so, but the point of caution is - let us not do half jobs
that will lead us to not achieving the objective we set out to. We will be a
laughing stock."

The AU had recently approved the creation of an African central bank and a
common currency for the continent, modelled along the European Central Bank
and the European common currency - the euro.

Zimbabwe situation - House of Commons debate