|
| Wednesday, June 25, 2008 11:50
news@hararetribune.com |
|
Zimbabwe, Harare --The Zimbabwe Election Support
Network (ZESN), a network of 38 organisations will not be observing the 27 June
election due to the following reasons;
1. The Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Patrick Chinamasa has reduced the number of ZESN observers from 8 667 observers that it fielded during the 29 March harmonized election to 500 for the run-off. On 2 June 2008, ZESN submitted its first list of 11122 and a supplementary list of 4311 names on 12 June 2008. On 19 June 2008 ZESN received a letter from the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to reduce its number of observers from the two lists (15433) to 500. ZESN re-submitted the 500 names on Friday 20 June 2008. The suggestion that domestic election observation personnel, if not reduced, would disrupt the smooth running of the electoral process is absurd. The electoral legal framework as stipulated in Statutory Instrument 21 of 2005, second schedule section 19 (2) and (3) clearly allows up to 3 static domestic observers per polling station per observer group and one per observer group at constituency tabulation centre. The reduction in the number of ZESN observers by Mr. Patrick Chinamasa reduces transparency and undermines democracy. Given the prescribed numbers the law allows, Zimbabwe’s electoral process can actually accommodate in excess of 27 000 domestic observers stationed within the country’s 9 231 polling stations across the country. At an observers briefing held on 23 June 2008, ZEC announced that as of Sunday 22 June 2008, they had only accredited 84 local observers. 2. ZESN has also raised concerns over the re-issuing of new invitations for the run- off yet other procedures and laws for the two elections remained the same. As of today 24 June 2008, ZESN had not received the invitation of its 500 observers submitted on 20 June 2008. Given the fact that there are only two days left
before the election, it is therefore neither practical nor possible for the
organisation to communicate with its observers to come to the central
accreditation centres in Harare and Bulawayo. The processes of training,
accreditation and deployment of the observers cannot be conducted in the short
space of time left before polling. 3. ZESN’s observers for the 29 March harmonised
elections have been subjected to severe attacks which have left Elliot Machipisa
an observer from Hurungwe dead, 30 beaten and over 200 displaced, 14 had their
homes and property destroyed. These are the only reported cases as hundreds of other displaced and brutalized observers went unreported. Although the above-mentioned cases have been reported to the police together with names of perpetrators, no action has been taken by the law enforcement agents. Furthermore, ZESN offices and its National Director’s house were raided on 25 April 2008 by police allegedly looking for subversive material. Allegations which are vehemently denied by ZESN.
|
Mugabe wants vote to strengthen hand
Reuters
Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:08pm
BST
By Cris Chinaka - Analysis
HARARE (Reuters) - Although
Zimbabwe's election has been dismissed as a sham
by much of the world,
President Robert Mugabe may believe it will give him
enough legal cover to
negotiate from strength with the opposition.
Mugabe is bound to be
re-elected after opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai -- who defeated the
veteran leader in a first round on March
29 -- withdrew because of violence
against his supporters and took refuge in
the Dutch embassy.
Mugabe,
who thrives in defiance, has brushed off a flood of condemnation,
including
for the first time from African leaders who previously revered him
as a
liberation hero.
While analysts believe the tide is clearly turning
against the former
guerrilla commander and he is moving towards negotiations
with the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change, he wants to enter talks
from a
position of strength by extending his 28-year-rule.
After a
violent campaign by his supporters since the March defeat, insiders
expect a
huge voter turnout from rural areas where Mugabe's ZANU-PF has
mobilised
village heads and traditional chiefs to lead their people to the
polls.
ZANU-PF hardliners believe they lost parliamentary and
presidential polls in
March not because of Mugabe's unpopularity but because
they failed to get
out the vote for the veteran leader in their
strongholds.
Mugabe insists the poll must go ahead to fulfil Zimbabwe's
legal process,
but he has, for the first time, indicated that ZANU-PF is
ready to negotiate
with the opposition MDC.
"Mugabe probably sees
this as an important step in claiming the presidency,
and that once he is
sworn in, he will be dealing with the MDC and other
opponents from some
point of strength," said lawyer Lovemore Madhuku,
chairman of political
pressure group National Constitutional Assembly (NCA).
"It's a very
flawed process, a contestable one because the democratic
process leading to
his so-called election is in dispute," he said.
"From a practical point
of view however, he will be in position and he will
be part of the process
of finding a solution," Madhuku said.
Negotiations are far from certain.
Tsvangirai said on Wednesday that there
would be no talks if the run-off
goes ahead on Friday.
MISCALCULATION
Whether or not he hangs on,
Mugabe is in the weakest position of his long
rule with the economy now in
freefall and Western countries in particular
determined to increase the pain
for his inner circle.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Wednesday that
London was preparing
intensified sanctions against named members of his
government.
"Mugabe has seriously miscalculated this time round and what
this farce,
what they are calling an election, is doing is to dramatise the
Zimbabwe
crisis," said John Makumbe, a veteran political commentator and
Mugabe
critic.
"The world can clearly see now what is going on, and
as a result everyone
who matters is applying pressure and considering action
against the Mugabe
regime to resolve the crisis," said Makumbe, a University
of Zimbabwe
political science professor.
"Things are getting worse
and everyone now realises that we need a quick
solution," he told
Reuters.
Mugabe's former African allies, shocked by a wave of violence
which the MDC
says has left nearly 90 opposition supporters dead and
displaced 200,000
others, have joined a chorus of criticism of the veteran
Zimbabwean leader.
Apart from tougher Western sanctions, Mugabe is likely
to be increasingly
isolated in the region and under huge pressure to cut a
deal with the
opposition for some kind of transitional or unity
government.
There is little expectation, however, that Zimbabwe's
neighbours are ready
to support military intervention or wider international
sanctions on a
country which the World Bank says has the fastest shrinking
economy outside
a war zone.
The economic collapse is ultimately
likely to be the form of pressure which
will force Mugabe to
negotiate.
The once prosperous southern African state is groaning with an
inflation
rate estimated at over 2 million percent and under severe
shortages of
basics, including food, fuel and drugs.
"The
international community has a moral entry point to help restore
democracy
and the rule of law and to help alleviate the (economic)
suffering," said a
senior Western diplomat.
"This process has gained a momentum which Mugabe
cannot ignore, and which he
is slowly beginning to grasp," he
said.
Mugabe has stumped Zimbabwe's countryside since he lost the first
round in
March, urging people to "correct your errors" and support his drive
back to
power.
On Wednesday, preparations were going ahead as
planned
Schools have been closed to use as polling stations, the
electoral
commission was transporting ballot boxes and polling officers were
deploying
as normal.
MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said Friday's poll
would have been dismissed as
laughable if it had not cost life and
limb.
"Beating up people, killing others, displacing people, destroying
homes and
waging a war on voters? That cannot be an election," he said. "It
is bloody
daylight robbery by any description."
(Editing by Barry
Moody and Matthew Tostevin)
The Joint Operational Command's (JOC) strategy for the Presidential run-off poll
PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY
The Joint
Operational Command's strategy for the Presidential run-off poll
Sokwanele : 25 June 2008
On the 21st May 2008 the Solidarity Peace Trust (SPT) released a report titled Punishing Dissent, Silencing Citizens: The Zimbabwe Elections 2008. The report made it very clear that ZANU PF had embarked on a systematic programme of retributive violence in response to its electoral defeat on March 29th 2008. The report included an evaluation of the violence up until that point based on interviews with 681 people.
In addition to this, Appendix 3 of the SPT report contained information provided by a key informant who relayed their knowledge about the Joint Operational Command's (JOC) election strategy. Those who have been following events in Zimbabwe closely will see that much of what the source described to SPT has since come to fruition. (Appendix 3 of the report is included at the end of this mailing)
Sokwanele received similar information at the time that confirmed and supported the information that was published in the SPT report.
Our source has recently provided us with more information, this time in relation to JOC's preparations and plans for the Presidential run-off poll. Despite the fact that one of the candidates has withdrawn from the poll, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) states that the Presidential run-off election on June 27 will proceed. We are concerned that JOC's plans and strategies will continue as well.
We are so worried about the information relayed to us that we have decided to make it public in the hope that some of the obvious dangers can be averted. At this point we cannot verify whether what has been outlined to us will happen, all we can say is that our source has provided credible information before now and that much of what has been relayed to us in the past by our source has happened. There is evidence already that some of the strategies outlined below have already been taking place.
On these grounds we believe that this new information presents very real risks to safety and security of the people of Zimbabwe.
We ask that it is read carefully and that people forward the information to all their local media sources to warn of what could possibly happen.
Sokwanele has supplied various other sources with this information too, beyond this mailing
The information, conveying JOC's preparations and plans for the Presidential run-off poll, is as follows:
-
Zanu PF youths to be in every constituency, working with war vets, CIO, and the police to make sure Tsvangirai does not hold a successful rally. To do everything needed to frustrate his campaign.
-
Do everything possible to prevent MDC agents being deployed at polling stations. If necessary eliminate MDC polling agents.
-
All the voters in a ward should surrender their IDs to the village head, and have their names taken down. On the day of voting, the respective village heads should queue outside the polling agent with each member (voter) with a respective number. As much as possible voters shall profess ignorance of the ability to write on his/her own. Agents in the polling stations will be helping voters to mark X where it is necessary and forth with take down the patterns of voting against each individual.
-
The indoctrination bases are now fully armed, and most are getting logistical support from the army. Weapons held in the Darwendale armouries are to be distributed to the veterans, including bombs and grenades. Some polling stations to be bombed. MDC youths to be implicated and arrested.
-
War veterans to kill MDC MPs, working together with the Army and the CIO.
-
In the event that Tsvangirai still wins, the Nigerian scenario to be implemented. Abiola vs Abacha. MPs to be arrested and the electorate silenced. No results to be announced by ZEC in favour of Tsvangirai. All MPs who speak out shall be charged with treason and jailed.
-
Polling ballot boxes to be stuffed in remote areas by death squads who will be armed. They have been instructed to abduct and kill whoever gets in their way.
-
The elections to be ward based and the voting pattern of the 18 – 45 age group changed to make sure this group is disturbed. Results from wards to be scrapped, and the only source of information will be the constituency command centre. Life is to be made difficult for those seeking clarification on their names. Every police officer not to attend to names missing from the roll especially using radios.
-
Governor Gono to finance all the projects, including the buying of weapons.
-
All strategic points to be heavily guarded.
-
A lot of rigging to be done especially on postal ballot boxes. All forms of propaganda to be dismantled including the media. No officer shall watch any radio or TV station outside Zimbabwe state news. Each officer to vote in the presence of an intelligence officer.
-
Zimbabwe Intelligence Corps (ZIC) to provide logistics on the torturing of MDC legislators. All to be silenced. All retired generals to be recalled to national service.
-
More terror to be unleashed after elections. More people to be claimed, more displacements in the rural areas. Chiweshe to provide the statistics of voting patterns to assist in determining where terror to be unleashed.
-
MDC agents to be bribed in the rural areas – substantial amounts to be offered.
Information referred to earlier, taken from the Solidarity Peace Trust
report 'Punishing Dissent, Silencing Citizens: The Zimbabwe Elections
2008'
Appendix Three: Interview with key informant on election strategy
of JOC
ALL NAMES HAVE BEEN REMOVED IN ORDER TO PROTECT KEY INFORMANTS IN THIS PROVINCE, BUT ARE TO HAND. The interview was conducted on 15 April.
Firstly there was a meeting on XX April at Z Business centre at which the DISPOL (District Police Officer in Charge) B said that there might be a presidential rerun. He told the police to support the government of the day and told them that there would be a full briefing two days later.
APRIL YY MEETING, 10 AM TO NOON.
Attended by the following senior police officers:
Snr Asst Commissioner X
Asst Commissioner Y
Asst Commissioner Z (a war vet)
Asst Commissioner A
All DISPOLs were present, from all the police districts in the province
Attended by Zimbabwe National Army:
Joint Operations Command (JOC) Lt Col B
JOC Lt Col C (on list of 200 officers released last week)
Brig Gen D
Lt Col E
Attended by Prisons Services:
Asst Comm F
Asst Comm G
Attended by CIO:
Cde H - Provincial Intelligence Officer
Cde J - Regional Intelligence Officer
Attended by senior war veterans:
K - Provincial Chair, war vets
All district war vet chairs from the province
Attended by Governor of the province
The meeting was to address the Police Ward Commanders from all wards in the province. The election was ward based, and the run off will be ward based. These officers will be stationed in every ward centre in their own office. The ward commanders will be answerable to a constituency commander.
The constituency commanders are as follows:
All names of police officer commanders and cell phone numbers given for every constituency in the province, with some information on actual schools, offices to which to be deployed
L is the Regulating Authority for the area.
The protocol of command is:
WARD => CONSTITUENCY => PROVINCE => NATIONAL
THE WARD COMMAND CENTRE: STRUCTURE
Stationed in every ward command centre there will be:
- Three police officers
- One war vet who will be called the Chief Warden: the Chief Warden will be given a police uniform and a temporary force number
- The Chief's messenger: he will be chosen from the presiding chief's neighbourhood watch force [this force normally patrols the community and can make citizens' arrests and take people to the chief who will then decide whether the case will be referred up to the police or be dealt with himself under his traditional leadership powers].
THIS INDICATES THAT EVERY WARD WILL FALL UNDER THE CONTROL NOT JUST OF THE POLICE, BUT OF THE WAR VETS ASSOCIATION AND THE TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP STRUCTURES.
There will be small radios in every polling station. At the Ward Command Centre there will be a bigger radio to transmit to the Constituency Centre.
THE BRIEFING: ASST COMMISSIONER M
The elections were completed but they may be rerun because the election was a fraud for the following reasons.
- ZEC officials were bribed by the MDC to steal votes from R G Mugabe. ZEC officials have been arrested in several provinces. There will be a recount in 23 constituencies and there may be a recount of all Presidential votes. The presidential votes are now at the provincial centres and would be recounted there if necessary. [Sec 67A allows for a recount of Parliamentary votes but NOT presidential. Sec 110 which relates to Presidential election does not allow for a recount]
- Postal ballots were not counted in some centres
- Some ZANU PF agents were chased away from the counting centres and therefore did not observe the count.
- Some ZANU PF voters were turned away from the voting
- The V11 forms (those posted outside every polling station) were tampered with at the polling stations and figures were changed and falsified outside the polling stations.
- MDC paid ZEC to frustrate ZANU PF voters
- Illiterate voters were cheated and were forced to vote for MDC T.
There is a need to build TEAMWORK : There should be total cooperation between ZRP, ZNA, war vets and the ZANU PF party members at the ward level to achieve the desired goal in a rerun.
[THIS IMPLIES COMPLETE POLITICISATION OF ZRP AND ZNA, as they are now meant to cooperate fully with ZANU PF structures.]
On run off day, the police should recall all people turned away, including their names, IDs and addresses.
If the country is given away through the ballot, we will not hand over power, but rather go back to the bush and start another war.
BRIGADIER N
He narrated the Traditional Leaders' role. He said democracy is very important but not the way it was introduced into Zimbabwe, where in terms of the Lancaster House Agreement, government could only take land on a willing seller, willing buyer basis until 1989. After 1989, whites started refusing to sell their land and so the problems started. Then in 1999, a political party was started to defend white interests. Do you want to give the farms back to the whites? I know you don't.
If ZANU does not win there will be conflict in the country and that will be black against black. We know the United Nations will send in peace keepers, but people will have died by then and there will be no resurrecting them. So you have to protect the revolution. If we lose through the ballot we will go back to the bush. Democracy is only for the educated.
GOVERNOR O
You have to defend the revolution. If you don't and the revolution is sold through the ballot, we will go back to the bush and fight. Is that what you want to do? I don't think so. There is no day on which this country will be handed over on a silver platter. We can't give power to anyone who has no knowledge of governance and has no support from the local voters but has support from the outside world. More instructions and strategies will be given shortly.
SNR ASST COMMISSIONER P
The role of the Chief Wardens - the war vets in uniform - is to monitor the police officers at ward level. If the vote is lost, it will be the police that have sold out. The exercise is a fast track one to achieve desired goals.
PART OF THE STRATEGY, AS EXPLAINED BY INFORMANT, IS THAT WHEN YOUTHS GO ABOUT BEATING PEOPLE UP, THEY WILL NOT BE ARRESTED. THEY MAY BE REFERRED TO THE CHIEFS VIA THE CHIEF'S MESSENGERS, AND WILL BE DEALT WITH AT WARD LEVEL THUS PREVENTING THE CASES BEING DEALT WITH BY THE POLICE AND OFFICIAL DOCKETS OPENED. THE POLICE WILL BE INTIMIDATED OUT OF MAKING RECORDS AT DISTRICT LEVEL THUS GIVING POLITICAL CRIMES IMPUNITY. THE YOUTHS ARE ALLEGEDLY BEING GEARED UP FOR VIOLENCE.
MEETING WITH THE CHIEFS ONLY:
Addressed by GOVERNOR O, AND ZANU PF MP Q
The chiefs were taken to a side meeting for them only. They were told they had to cooperate with the ruling party and with the team at ward level. They were told further instructions and strategies were to follow. They were told to urge the people to be patient. The results were being delayed so that ZANU PF could prepare and mobilise structures as once the result are released, the run off will have to be within 21 days in terms of the constitutional requirement: ie delaying the result meant delaying the beginning of the 21 day count to the rerun.
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Biti subjected to extensive interrogation
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com
June 25, 2008
HARARE (The
Guardian) - The arrest and interrogation of the second most
senior
opposition official in Zimbabwe has exposed divisions and paranoia
within
Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF that indicate important elements of the
ruling party
believe the government may soon collapse.
Lawyers for Tendai Biti, the
secretary general of the Movement for
Democratic Change who was arrested on
treason charges 10 days ago, say he
has been subjected to extensive
interrogation by intelligence officers
acting for top Zanu-PF officials.
They wanted to know if key cabinet
ministers were striking individual deals
with the opposition to avoid
prosecution for corruption and political
violence, leaving other Zanu-PF
leaders exposed.
One of the lawyers,
Lewis Uriri, said he was told by Biti that he had been
interrogated for 19
hours by three teams of eight people. "These were not
negotiators - the
justice minister, Patrick Chinamasa, and the labour
minister, Nicholas Goche
- told Biti in talks immediately after Mugabe lost
the first round of
presidential elections three months ago when Zanu-PF put
out tentative
feelers for a power-sharing government before hardliners opted
to pursue a
more violent strategy to crush the opposition.
"Biti's sense was that
there is so much distrust and suspicion in Zanu-PF
that these people wanted
to verify what Goche and Chinamasa [said]. There
was a sense from the
questions that the interrogators thought Goche and
Chinamasa were trying to
negotiate their own future and not protect
everybody else at the top of the
party," said Uriri.
"They wanted to know specifically about whether there
had been any
individual agreements for amnesty from prosecution . Biti said
that he
thought from the interrogation that there are people, important
powerful
people, in Zanu-PF who were not briefed on what was happening and
were
afraid of being left unprotected."
Biti's account would suggest
that while Zanu-PF projects a powerful
monolithic front to the outside
world, there is a realisation in some
quarters that the administration is
doomed whatever the outcome of Friday's
widely discredited election and that
a deal with the opposition would have
to be made.
Zimbabwe's economy
is collapsing ever more rapidly, with prices of ordinary
goods now running
into billions of local dollars amid 1 600 000 percent
inflation, and the
ruling party has no answers. The government is also
increasingly isolated
even within the region which has largely supported
Mugabe up until
now.
In a line of questioning that appears to reflect a deep paranoia and
distrust within the highest levels of Zanu-PF, the interrogators also asked
Biti why Chinamasa and Goche agreed at talks mediated by South Africa last
year to change election procedures, including posting the results at each
polling station, that helped prevent the ruling party from stealing the
first round.
The interrogators asked Biti if the change was part of a
deal in return for
a commitment not to prosecute the ministers.
Uriri
said Biti was also questioned about the MDC's position on
power-sharing and
his own preference among the various models available,
including whether
there would still be a role for Mugabe in government,
again suggesting that
elements of Zanu-PF are leaning towards a negotiated
way out of the
political crisis, provided that their interests are
protected.
The
lawyer said that almost none of the questions were about the charges
against
Biti - which include treason, based on a forged document published
in the
state press, causing disaffection in the armed forces, and insulting
Mugabe.
Uriri said that the line of interrogation shows that Biti's
detention is
political with the intent of removing an effective leader from
the election
campaign and discovering the MDC's long-term political
intent.
"The whole idea, according to him, was to disrupt the MDC
campaign, to keep
him out of circulation, particularly in light of the
opposition victory in
the first round," he said.
Biti was arrested as
he stepped off a plane from South Africa 11 days ago.
He has so far been
refused bail.
Tsvangirai press statement June 25
http://www.hararetribune.com
By Tsvagnria, Morgan | MDC President |
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 10:59
news@hararetribune.com
Zimbabwe, Harare --On March 29th the courageous people of Zimbabwe
voted for
hope at the ballot box. It was with a heavy heart and knowing the
many
challenges we faced that we agreed to participate in the illegally
delayed
runoff election.
It is now generally accepted that the violence
we have endured since
March 29th is unprecedented. The persecution and
harassment of the MDC and
pro-democratic leadership is getting
worse.
This must stop. In the midst of all this, the people's cry
for change
on the 29th of March has been echoed around the world, bringing
messages of
solidarity and support from the United Nations Security Council,
the African
Union, the ANC, COSATU, SACP, a number of African liberation
movements,
African liberation heroes and heroines, and numerous other
African leaders.
May I restate that by way of our letter to
Honourabe Justice Chiweshe
on the 23rd of June 2008, we have officially
pulled out of what would
otherwise have been a sham election. Our decision
to pull out of the
election has been supported within the region, continent
and world over.
We appreciate this support. We remain convinced, as
is the rest of the
world, that our decision to pull out of the election was
in the best
interest of the people of Zimbabwe.
Any election
conducted arrogantly and unilaterally on Friday will not
be recognized by
the MDC, Zimbabweans or the world. The international
community is united by
its desire for the violence to end immediately and
the will of the people of
Zimbabwe to prevail.
As much and as soon as possible, the
normal functioning of the
Zimbabwean society must be restored. In our
considered view, to address the
immediate political, social and economic
crisis facing us, four actions must
be taken with immediate
effect:
First, the violence must stop. All structures and
infrastructures of
violence must be withdrawn and disbanded. Towards this
objective, amongst
other things, war veterans, youth militia and others
encamped on the edges
of our cities, towns and villages need to be sent home
and be reintegrated
into society. Unofficial roadblocks along the roads and
highways must be
disbanded. These camps and roadblocks are the checkpoints
of violence.
Violence must stop
Second, humanitarian
assistance must be allowed into the country
immediately. Emergency food
assistance from the United Nations World Food
Program and other
non-governmental organizations must again be allowed
access throughout the
country for food distribution and other urgent
humanitarian assistance. No
government should have anything to fear from
humanitarian programs. Our
people are starving and dying of preventable and
curable diseases, and need
immediate assistance. Third, all House of
Assembly and Senate members
elected on 29 March must be sworn in and convene
urgently to conduct normal
legislative business.
Fourth, all political prisoners must be freed
immediately.
While these healing steps are being taken within the
country, a
longer-term sustainable political solution to the Zimbabwe crisis
must be
found immediately. The immediate humanitarian crisis and the long
term
economic crisis both have political roots. All parties and observers in
Zimbabwe agree on that -- however much we disagree on causes of the
political failure.
We have always maintained that the
Zimbabwean problem is an African
problem that requires an African solution.
To this end, I am asking the
African Union and SADC to lead an expanded
initiative, supported by the
United Nations, to manage the transitional
process. We are proposing that
the AU facilitation team, comprising eminent
Africans, set up a transitional
period which takes into account the will of
the people of Zimbabwe. The
African Union team would lead in the
constituting and character of the
transitional period. The transitional
period would allow the country to
heal. As the MDC, we have always said we
will be magnanimous in our victory.
Genuine and honest dialogue amongst
Zimbabweans is the only way forward. The
MDC is a people's project; we value
our county and our people.
I want to emphasize that the basis of
any settlement must recognize
the fundamental principle of democracy, that
is, the respect for the will of
the people to choose their own leadership.
Over and above this, the Zimbabwe
political solution must recognize the
following - stability, inclusivity,
acceptability, and credibility. The sum
total of all this is legitimacy. A
negotiated political settlement which
allows the country to begin a national
healing and the process of a)
economic reconstruction; b) provision of
humanitarian assistance and c)
democratization would be in the best interest
of the
country.
Due to the urgency of the situation I'm asking that
the African Heads
of State discuss this crisis at their meeting this weekend
in Egypt. Let me
be clear - this cannot be a part time mediation effort.
Neither can it be a
continuation of talks and talks about talks that have
been largely fruitless
for several years. The time for actions is now. The
people and the country
can wait no longer. We need to show
leadership.
Let me say clearly that there is no discussion about
moving forward
without our Secretary General Tendai Biti who has been so
instrumental in
all of our plans and discussions. Tendai Biti is an
indispensable asset of
the MDC and the people of Zimbabwe. He must be
released immediately.
In summary I am asking for the following
toward the restoration of
stability and democracy in Zimbabwe:
· The violence must stop immediately.
· Emergency humanitarian
organisations must be allowed to operate
freely and without hindrance
throughout the country.
· All political prisoners must be freed
immediately
· Parliament and Senate must be sworn in and begin
working on the
people's business.
· The AU and SADC-led
political solution be set into motion at the AU
Summit in Sharm el Sheikh
this weekend.
To the Zimbabwean people let me say we have walked a
long road
together. But we are not alone. We have caring and concerned
African
brothers and sisters who in the last few months have demonstrated
their
commitment to the ideals we share.
It seems darkest at
this moment but we must not give up. We are going
to be the beacon of hope
that Africa and the entire world will point to -
your children will look
back on these days and they will be proud of the
sacrifices you and our
brothers and sisters have made for a new Zimbabwe and
a new Beginning. In
the spirit of the African renaissance, we and our allies
throughout the
continent sharing this struggle for democratic change can
write a new
chapter in African history.
I thank you. May God bless Africa and
may God bless Zimbabwe
Around 300 Zimbabweans seek refuge at SAfrican embassy
Monsters and Critics
Jun 25, 2008, 17:20 GMT
Harare/Johannesburg - Around
300 people sought refuge at the South African
embassy in Harare on
Wednesday, South Africa's Sapa news agency reported,
saying the group was
believed to be made up of supporters of Zimbabwe's
opposition
party.
'Our ambassador Mlungisi Makalima and his team of diplomats are
currently in
talks with the group. The situation is under control,'
spokesman Ronnie
Mamoepa was quoted as saying by South Africa's Sapa news
agency.
The report comes as leaders from the Southern African Development
Community
(SADC) region meet to discuss the crisis in Zimbabwe ahead of
presidential
run-off elections on Friday.
Opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) leader and candidate Morgan
Tsvangirai earlier this
week pulled out of the run- off.
Harare woman: 'If you talk too much ... they hunt you down'
CNN
(CNN) -- The 23-year-old woman in Harare, Zimbabwe, said she could talk, but only briefly. It was 3:30 p.m. there and she had to be home before the 6 p.m. curfew, she said.
Movement for Democratic Change official Fredrick Shaba is treated for stab wounds after an attack last week.
Zimbabweans are accustomed to violence, but the beatings and bloodshed have been epidemic since early April, days after opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai pushed longtime President Robert Mugabe into a runoff election for the nation's top post.
Tsvangirai dropped out of the race this week, citing intimidation and vote-rigging. He is now in hiding at the Dutch Embassy, uncertain like most Zimbabweans whether the violence would continue.
Zimbabweans and outside observers say militias
loyal to Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) have
engaged in intimidation tactics designed to deter Tsvangirai's supporters from
casting ballots. 
Watch
people run in fear »
"Violence has been taking place mainly in the countryside, people having their hands chopped off, fingers broken, etc. -- the reason for that being to prevent them from voting in the runoff," said a journalist Tuesday in an e-mail from Harare.
Both the woman and journalist requested anonymity out of fear they could be targeted for talking.
"If you talk too much, they come looking for you, they hunt you down, they beat you," the woman told CNN.
Rapes and maimings are being reported across
the country. On Monday, the United Nations Security Council condemned "the
campaign of violence," which it said was responsible for scores of dead
opposition activists and the beatings of thousands. Watch
why the U.N. says a fair election is impossible »
"There are so many people who are dying right now. We're not even sure how many people have died," said the woman in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital.
In his letter announcing he was dropping out of the presidential race, Tsvangirai said at least 86 people have been killed, 10,000 wounded and 200,000 people displaced.
At a rally Monday in Chipinge, a rural town near the Mozambique border, Mugabe brushed off the death toll, calling Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change a creation of the West.
"Britain and her allies are telling a lot of
lies about Zimbabwe, saying a lot of people are dying. These are all lies
because they want to build a situation to justify their intervention in
Zimbabwe," Mugabe said, according to the state-run Herald newspaper. Watch
how past interventions in Africa have fared »
In his Tuesday letter, Tsvangirai -- who has called the election "a sham" -- said the impossibility of a fair election convinced him to bow out.
"The violence, intimidation, death, destruction of property is just too much for anyone to dream of a free and fair election, let alone expect our people to be able to freely and independently express... themselves," he wrote. "For this reason, my party and I have resolved that we cannot be part to this flawed process."
The journalist was in the capital Sunday when ZANU-PF youths attacked an opposition rally at a stadium, just hours before Tsvangirai announced his exit from the poll. Despite a Saturday court order allowing the rally, the militias blocked the roads as MDC supporters arrived, he said.
"Those who tried to ask the reasons why, they were assaulted," the journalist said. "Later, some MDC supporters came chanting songs and they were beaten up by the ZANU-PF militia with logs, stones or anything that was in sight."
Mugabe has denied accusations of
violence and has countered that MDC supporters are inciting violence across
Zimbabwe. Watch
how Londoners want to "make Mugabe history" »
The journalist said he has seen violence perpetrated by MDC faithful, but it is a recent phenomenon and usually retaliatory.
"I saw a ZANU-PF youth being beaten Sunday evening," the journalist said. "He had been spotted at the rally venue and was then followed to his home in the evening by MDC youths."
The government-sponsored violence has scared people into carrying and wearing ZANU-PF regalia -- flags, bandanas and T-shirts bearing the national colors and emblazoned with "100 percent empowerment." Other popular slogans include "WW," which means "win or war," and the more blunt, "June 27 Mugabe in office by whatever means."
"WW means if ZANU-PF loses it goes to war," the journalist said. "It is a threat or meant to confuse the electorate. It shows that ZANU-PF has nothing to sell to the people for them to vote for it, so they now resort to intimidation."
The journalist said he witnessed such saber-rattling at a ZANU-PF rally last week in Norton, about 19 miles southwest of Harare.
"People were told that they must not vote again for
the MDC or there will be war," he said. "They were told that there would be a
camera seeing how they would have voted." 
See
how the election unfolded »
Even MDC supporters are tying the red-yellow-and-green ZANU-PF bandanas around their neck or over their heads, said the woman in Harare.
"You need to move around with this," she said. "If you're driving a car, you need to have this in your car. I have one in my car now. If you don't, they will think you're MDC and they will mess you up big time."
Added the journalist, "Because of the violence taking place, people have been looking for ZANU-PF regalia to 'protect' themselves. The assumption is that if you are in ZANU-PF regalia, you support it."
Asked if hopes for Zimbabwe's future dissipated with Tsvangirai's departure from the race, the journalist said there are mixed emotions. Some are eager to vote Friday and want to "finish off" Mugabe, some are tired of the violence, some are hopeless and some are scared, he said. Others are relieved Tsvangirai dropped out because it could mean an end to the violence.
"Myself, I've lost hope," said the woman in Harare.
Even if the violence were to vanish, Zimbabwe
would remain crippled by its economy, long decimated by inflation and
unemployment. Basic goods are scarce and expensive. Loaves of bread last year
sold for about 5,000 Zimbabwean dollars, the woman said. The price then was
steep because of skyrocketing inflation, but today, 5,000 Z-dollars would be a
bargain. Watch
a Zimbabwean envoy warn against micromanagement »
Recently, she said, she saw bread selling for 550 million Z-dollars.
"That was quite reasonable," she said of food prices of late.
The woman said she makes the equivalent of $10 a month. Though the official exchange rate is 7.5 billion Z-dollars to the U.S. dollar, the Harare woman said she has seen exchange rates as high as 15 billion to 1.
Even if you have money, it's not guaranteed you can get basic necessities. The government has imposed price controls, forcing manufacturers to close their doors because they cannot make a living.
"Basically, there are no goods to talk about," the journalist said. "Most commodities are now on the black market."
You could stand in line for two or three hours
for bread and not get a slice, and the price for a loaf on the black market
could be as much as 10 billion Z-dollars, the woman in Harare said, explaining
that she has made the 300-mile drive to South Africa to pick up food because
there were no real grocery options in Zimbabwe. Watch
Tsvangirai explain times are desperate »
"The way our money has changed," she said, "I've had a tough time keeping up."
There are questions about whether the southeastern African country's leaders can negotiate a settlement to mitigate Zimbabwe's turmoil.
Mugabe said at a rally Tuesday that he would be "open to discussion" but only after the runoff, the Herald reported. Tsvangirai said Wednesday that he was open to considering a postponed election, or even a negotiated transition of power.
Tsvangirai also said in his Tuesday letter, and reiterated Wednesday, that he would consider a new election. However, it would rely heavily on the oversight of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, which Tsvangirai has accused of espousing the philosophy "that a president does not come to power through the electoral process, but rather, through the barrel of a gun."
Until the commission can ensure a free and fair election, Tsvangirai wrote Tuesday, "the presidential election question remains unresolved."
Zanu-PF Distributes Fake MDC Fliers Urging Supporters to Vote
SW
Radio Africa (London)
25 June 2008
Posted to the web 25 June
2008
Tererai Karimakwenda
MDC supporters in Manicaland have
been warned to beware of fake fliers and
posters that are being distributed
by ZANU-PF, urging them to go and vote in
the Presidential runoff on
Friday.
The MDC spokesperson for Manicaland, Pishai Muchauraya, said this
is being
done to confuse MDC supporters into thinking that their party
leader Morgan
Tsvangirai is still participating in the runoff.
He
warned all MDC supporters not to go and vote on Friday because Tsvangirai
has definitely pulled out of the race, due to the extreme violence that has
been unleashed. Muchauraya advised those in the rural areas to spoil their
ballot if they are forced to go to the polling stations.
Meanwhile,
the MDC offices in Manicaland were raided Wednesday morning by
agents from
the Law and Order Division, uniformed police, plus youth militia
in ZANU-PF
t-shirts. Muchauraya said the team came armed with AK-47's,
teargas and
dogs.
They cordoned off the building while the riot squads known as the
'black
boots' entered the offices and began searching through files. They
demanded
to know who lived in the office and Pishai explained that there
were people
there who had been forced to flee from their home areas due to
political
violence.
The MDC's lawyers arrived and took over
negotiations with the police, who at
this time were demanding a list of all
the people there. The lawyers
refused, saying this was private property and
the police needed a reason to
demand such a list. The police left and said
they were coming back at 2:00
PM for the list, which the lawyers said would
be ready.
At 2:00 PM a group of intelligence agents arrived but by then
the MDC
officials had alerted SADC observers in the area and they were
waiting at
the MDC office. The state agents left without asking for the
list.
Muchauraya said he told the observers that he was concerned that the
office
might be attacked at night, when observers are not present.
Violence continues in Zimbabwe; Many Unaware Opposition Leader has Withdrawn from Presidential Run-off
VOA
By Joe De
Capua
Washington
25 June 2008
As the
political situation in Zimbabwe worsens, many have called for a
negotiated
settlement between President Mugabe and the opposition MDC party.
Reporter
Peta Thornycroft is following that story. From Harare, she spoke to
VOA
English to Africa Service reporter Joe De Capua about the chances for a
negotiated political solution.
"They would be quite good if, for
example, the secretary-general of the MDC,
Tendai Biti, was released from
detention. He's actually in.the high court
today in Harare stating his case
of why he believes he should be granted
bail.. (MDC leader) Morgan
Tsvangirai made it very clear today that no
negotiations could take place
while Tendai Biti remained in detention. So,
that is the bottom line for the
MDC," she says.
Biti faces treason charges. "He is charged with four
counts, including
treason and subverting a constitutional government. And he
maintains that
the document on which he's charged was certainly not his
work. He had not
authored it and that the signature on it is fraudulent. It
was published in
the state-controlled press in the middle of April. He
immediately responded
to that publication, saying he had not written it and
he threatened to sue
them," she says.
There is precedent for someone
in Biti's situation to be released on bail.
before the 2002 presidential
election, Morgan Tsvangirai was himself charged
with treason and was
released on bail.
Meanwhile, despite Tsvangirai's dropping out of
Friday's presidential
run-off, the preparationscontinue. Thornycroft says,
"Polling stations are
being put up all over the country. There's something
like 9,200 polling
stations.. Mr. (President) Mugabe has said that he has to
continue with the
selection to fulfill the legal requirements of the
constitution. The
Zimbabwe Election Commission, which analysts believe is
entirely partisan
toward (the ruling party) ZANU-PF, has said that it
doesn't recognize the
letter of withdrawal from opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai. We are
informed by the state press on a daily basis there will
be an election. What
worries the MDC, what worries many analysts, is that
people who have got the
message that Tsvangirai has withdrawn will be forced
out of their homes and
into the polling stations and forced to vote against
their will and will be
able to do nothing about it."
Reporter
Thornycroft says that would be more difficult to do in urban areas
than
remote ruralareas. "Many people in the rural areas, especially those
affected by the violence, have no idea that Morgan Tsvangirai has withdrawn.
There are no newspapers, no radio, no television, not even any transport in
and out of those areas," she says. She says these areas are under an
unofficial curfew maintained by ZANU-PF militias and "war
veterans."
Thornycroft says this week she did managed to speak with women
from rural
areas of Zimbabwe. "On Tuesday evening, I went around to one of
the clinics
in Harare to check on the latest number of injured people coming
in from the
rural areas. And I interviewed three women from two different
parts of the
country, from the northeast and from the south. All three of
them were badly
injured. They have injuries to their buttocks and to their
feet. So they can
neither sit down, nor can they walk. And they're extremely
gravely injured.
And through their pain they told of how they'd been beaten
by ZANU-PF in
their villages, in their homes. But none of them knew that
Morgan Tsvangirai
had pulled out of the election," she says.
She says
that when the women were told about Tsvangirai's decision, they
were
relieved and hoped it would help end the violence. "All three of them
clasped their hands together, the tears streamed down their faces.. So far,
however, there seemed to be no sign that the violence is decreasing," she
says.
Zim crisis - 'replace Mbeki'
News24
25/06/2008 18:19 -
(SA)
Harare - Zimbabwe authorities ruled on Wednesday that a June 27
presidential
run-off vote would go ahead despite the withdrawal of the
opposition and a
storm of international condemnation.
This amid
reports from Swaziland that Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga had
suggested
that South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki be replaced as mediator
in the
Zimbabwe crisis.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who pulled out of the
run-off contest against
President Robert Mugabe because of attacks on his
followers, said the vote
was a sham and called for the African Union -
backed by the United Nations -
to lead a transition in
Zimbabwe.
Tsvangirai spoke at a news conference at his home after leaving
the Dutch
embassy where he took refuge after announcing the pull-out last
Sunday.
But he returned to the embassy later.
Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission chair George Chiweshe said Tsvangirai's
withdrawal last Sunday
had been filed too late to have any legal effect.
"Accordingly, the
commission does not recognise the purported withdrawal.
"We are,
therefore, proceeding with the presidential election run-off this
Friday as
planned."
Transitional process
Tsvangirai told reporters during
the brief news conference: "I am asking the
AU and SADC (Southern African
Development Community) to lead an expanded
initiative supported by the UN to
manage what I will call a transitional
process."
The opposition
leader said the election would not be accepted either by
Zimbabweans or the
world.
He called on the AU to discuss the crisis next weekend at a summit
in Egypt.
Pressure has mounted both inside and outside Africa to call off
the vote
since Tsvangirai withdrew. Mugabe, 84, is now certain to be elected
to
extend his 28-year rule.
Human rights organisations, Western
powers and Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change accuse the veteran
leader of launching a campaign of
murder and intimidation after he and his
Zanu-PF party lost elections on
March 29.
Tsvangirai fell short of
the absolute majority required for outright victory
in that
vote.
Southern African leaders were holding an emergency meeting in
Swaziland on
Wednesday and Kenya stepped up African pressure for
intervention, saying the
country risked a Rwanda-style
disaster.
Mugabe, in power since 1980, has presided over a slide into
economic chaos
that has sent millions of refugees fleeing to neighbouring
states and pushed
inflation to an estimated 2 million
percent.
Tougher sanctions
In the first concrete step to punish
Mugabe for a wave of violence that
resulted in Tsvangirai's withdrawal,
former colonial power Britain said it
was preparing tougher sanctions
against specific members of Zimbabwe's
government.
Tsvangirai said
that while he was prepared to negotiate with Mugabe's
Zanu-PF before Friday,
his MDC would "not have anything to do" with a
government that emerged from
the vote.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga told reporters: "Zimbabwe
right now is a
disaster in the making," while Foreign Minister Moses
Wetangula described
the crisis as a blot on Africa.
Tsvangirai
earlier urged the United Nations to isolate Mugabe and called for
a
peacekeeping force. He accused the former guerrilla leader of declaring
war.
Mugabe has refused to call off the vote, shrugging off mounting
international pressure including Monday's unprecedented UN Security Council
condemnation of violence.
It said a free and fair run-off election on
Friday was impossible.
Members of a SADC security troika of Tanzania,
Angola and Swaziland met near
the Swaziland capital Mbabane to discuss the
Zimbabwe crisis.
'Replace Mbeki'
But the region's designated
mediator, South African President Thabo Mbeki,
would not attend, his
spokesperson said.
The South African president has been negotiating
between Mugabe and
Zimbabwe's opposition since last year, but has been
widely criticised for
being ineffective and too soft on
Mugabe.
Odinga said he had phoned Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete
ahead of the
Swaziland meeting and suggested former Nigerian president
Olusegun Obasanjo
or Botswana's former leader Ketumile Masire as possible
mediators, replacing
Mbeki.
Tsvangirai's MDC said on Wednesday that
armed police had cordoned off and
raided its office in the eastern city of
Mutare. Nobody was arrested.
There has been wide international
condemnation of the violence, but SADC is
seen as the only body that can
influence events in Zimbabwe.
Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond
Tutu also called for peacekeepers to
be sent to Zimbabwe.
Mugabe "has
mutated into something quite unbelievable".
"He has really turned into a
kind of Frankenstein for his people," Tutu told
ABC television in
Australia.
Bush denounces 'sham' Zimbabwe vote
Yahoo News
3 minutes
ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush on Wednesday denounced
Zimbabwe's planned run-off election as a "sham" and urged the African Union
(AU) to increase pressure on the government of President Robert
Mugabe.
"Friday's elections, you know, appear to be a sham," Bush
said as he met
with representatives of countries that sit on the UN Security
Council. "This
is an incredibly sad development."
"You can't have
free elections if a candidate is not allowed to campaign
freely and his
supporters aren't allowed to campaign without fear of
intimidation," he
added.
"I hope that the AU will, at their meeting this weekend, continue
to
highlight the illegitimacy of the elections, continue to remind the world
that this election is not free and it's not fair," said Bush.
The
African Union is set to hold a summit in Egypt June 30-July 1.
Mugabe's
government has vowed to go ahead with the presidential run-off on
Friday
despite the withdrawal of opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai, who
cited
political violence against his supporters.
"The people of Zimbabwe
deserve better than what they're receiving now.
People there want to express
themselves at the ballot box, yet the Mugabe
government refuses to allow
them to do so. This is not just, and it is
wrong," said
Bush.
Tsvangirai won the March 29 presidential poll but did not secure
the
required majority to claim outright victory. His pull-out has laid out a
possible victory by default for Mugabe, who has held power since
1980.
Bush thanked African leaders who have "stepped up and spoke
clearly" about
the situation in Zimbabwe and thanked the UN Security Council
for a
consensus statement on the upheaval in the strife-torn
country.
"It is a powerful statement for fairness and decency and human
dignity. And
I suspect you'll still be dealing with this issue," Bush said
as he met with
the diplomats in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.
Tsvangirai Calls for AU/SADC Initiative to Solve Crisis
SW Radio
Africa (London)
25 June 2008
Posted to the web 25 June
2008
Lance Guma
MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai has called for
an African Union and SADC
backed solution to the crisis in Zimbabwe, arguing
this would be key in
restoring stability and democracy in the
country.
Tsvangirai left the relative safety of the Dutch Embassy
Wednesday to
address a press conference at his home in Harare. He used the
press
conference to call for an end to the Zanu PF led violence and the
freeing of
all political prisoners including Secretary General Tendai Biti,
who has
spent nearly 2 weeks in custody.
Tsvangirai also said
parliamentarians and senators who won the March 29
election should be sworn
in and be allowed to begin their work. He called on
the authorities to lift
a ban on humanitarian organizations like the UN
World Food Programme, who
were providing emergency food relief in the
country.
Tsvangirai
admitted he took the decision to withdraw from the election with
a heavy
heart but that the country had witnessed unprecedented levels of
violence,
making a free and fair election impossible. He said the decision
to pull out
had been supported by countries in the region, on the continent
and the
world over and 'was in the best interests of the people of
Zimbabwe.'
Tsvangirai laid out his plan for a restoration of
stability in the country,
including demands that 'war veterans, youth
militia and others encamped on
the edges of our cities, towns and villages
need to be sent home and be
reintegrated into society.' He urged the AU and
SADC to lead an expanded
initiative, supported by the UN, to manage what he
called a 'transitional
process' that reflected the will of the
people.
After Wednesday's press conference Tsvangirai returned to the
refuge of the
Dutch Embassy.
On Tuesday Tsvangirai had called for
international peacekeepers to be
deployed in Zimbabwe, to help protect
people. He said; 'We do not want armed
conflict, but the people of Zimbabwe
need the words of indignation from
global leaders to be backed by the moral
rectitude of military force.' He
said the peacekeepers would help separate
the people from their oppressors
and, 'cast a protective shield around the
democratic process.'
Meanwhile political commentator Dr Alex Magaisa has
described as
preposterous arguments from some quarters that Tsvangirai is
not legally
entitled to withdraw from the run-off election. Writing in an
opinion piece
Dr Magaisa posed the question, 'since when have citizens
become prisoners of
the law, unable to exercise their free will in an
election?
Tutu Calls for International Blockade Against Country
SW Radio
Africa (London)
25 June 2008
Posted to the web 25 June
2008
Violet Gonda
Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu has called
on the world to regard Mugabe
as a "usurper" if he declares victory on
Friday - the day the Zimbabwean run
off is supposed to be held.
The
Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town said that Mugabe should be isolated, as
he
is leading an illegitimate government.
The outspoken cleric said a
blockade must be imposed against Zimbabwe, as it
is the ordinary people who
are suffering, while members of the regime can
travel freely, especially
within the region. He said if they are blocked
from traveling this would
make Mugabe and his ruling elite feel the
pressure.
He said: "The
Zimbabwean air ways should be grounded until he (Mugabe)
realizes that he
can't move, he can't do anything and would have to begin to
negotiate an
acceptable solution for the people of Zimbabwe."
Tutu added: "I don't
enjoy and I don't think anybody enjoys inflicting
suffering on people but
the only way, I think, that we are going to be able
to help bring about
change here is if Mr. Mugabe begins to feel the heat."
The cleric said
calls for a peacekeeping force should also be heeded to
protect the people
and maintain law and order.
Violence is escalating in Zimbabwe and Mugabe
has vowed to continue with the
run-off election, despite MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai pulling out. Scores
of people have been killed, thousands
brutally injured and hundreds of
thousands displaced. Political leaders
Tendai Biti and Eric Matinenga are
still in detention, as are rights
activists Jennie Williams and Magodonga
Mahlangu, who have now been in
custody for a month, without trial.
Meanwhile worldwide condemnation of
the Mugabe regime intensified.
Outspoken Kenyan Prime Minister Raila
Odinga dismissed Mugabe as an
"irritant" and said his government would be
pushing for sanctions at the
African Union. Odinga told a conference that he
would not set foot in
Zimbabwe as long as Mugabe is in power.
Former
South African President Fredrik de Klerk said Mugabe should be
toppled,
while the governing cricket body in South African has suspended
ties with
Zimbabwe because of the politically motivated violence. The
British
government has announced it would block the Zimbabwe Cricket tour of
England
in 2009. Prime Minister Gordon Brown also said the United Kingdom is
planning further targeted sanctions, against members of the Mugabe regime
and their families.
In the US, Democratic Presidential candidate
Barack Obama said his country
should lead a campaign to postpone Zimbabwe's
planned run-off election and
sponsor a fair one. Obama spoke to Morgan
Tsvangirai by phone and shared his
deep concern for the way his supporters
are being targeted by the ZANU PF
government.
The full interview with
Archbishop Desmond Tutu will be aired on the Hot
Seat programme on
Friday.
UK plans more Zim sanctions
News24
25/06/2008 20:05 -
(SA)
London - Britain said on Wednesday it was preparing tougher
sanctions
against specific members of the Zimbabwean government and urged
world
leaders to work together to remove President Robert Mugabe from
power.
"We are preparing intensified sanctions, financial and travel
sanctions,
against named members of the Mugabe regime," Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
told parliament.
He said the way forward for the country
was the United Nations and the
African Union "working together for a change
of regime".
Brown also said his government was speaking to the England
and Wales Cricket
Board (ECB) with a view to banning the Zimbabwean cricket
team from touring
England next year.
Zimbabwe had been thrown into
turmoil since its disputed election in March.
The opposition MDC has
withdrawn from a presidential run-off with Mugabe
because of
violence.
Mugabe, 84, refused to call off the vote, shrugging off
mounting
international pressure.
Southern African leaders were
meeting on Wednesday to discuss the crisis
following an unprecedented UN
Security Council statement on Monday that
condemned the violence and said a
free and fair run-off election on Friday
was impossible.
Brown also
said companies that were helping Mugabe's regime should
"reconsider their
position".
Queen strips dictator Mugabe of his knighthood for 'abject disregard for democracy'
By Benedict
Brogan Brown threatens to name and shame the 'criminal cabal' propping Mugabe's
regime up England Cricket Board agrees to ban Zimbabwe from Twenty20 World Cup tour in
England after pressure from the Government Zimbabwe Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says the country is 'burning' as
he begs the international community to intervene Robert Mugabe was stripped of his honorary knighthood as an statement of
'revulsion' tonight as Gordon Brown ordered tougher sanctions against his
increasingly violent regime. The Queen approved the rare step of removing an award issued 14 years ago to
mark British anger at the latest wave of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. With international outrage growing, Mugabe was condemned as a "Frankenstein"
terrorising the people of Zimbabwe by one of his former allies. Robert Mugabe pictured with the Queen during his state
visit to Britain in 1994, when he was awarded the honorary knighthood South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu said: "He has mutated into something
quite unbelievable. He has turned into a kind of Frankenstein for his
people." The decision to remove Mugabe's knighthood coincided with the England Cricket
Board's decision to scrap next year's cricket tour and suspend relations with
Zimbabwe. The Prime Minister authorised the step as a symbolic gesture following
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's decision to pull out of Friday's
presidential election in the face of escalating violence. Organised thugs from Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party have embarked on a reign
of terror across the country aimed at sealing their stolen victory over Mr
Tsvangirai's beleaguered MDC. A statement from the Foreign Office said: "This action has been taken as a
mark of revulsion at the abuse of human rights and abject disregard for the
democratic process in Zimbabwe over which President Mugabe has presided." The Government had been reluctant to hand Mugabe a propaganda coup in an
election campaign by taking a step that would allow him to claim he was being
victimised by his country's former colonial masters. But with his position now unopposed and worldwide condemnation growing by the
day, the Queen agreed to make him only the second world leader after Romanian
dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu to have an honour removed. He lost his knighthood in 1989, the day before he and his wife were summarily
executed after being removed from power in a popular uprising. Mugabe was made a Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Bath on the advice of
John Major's government during a state visit in 1994. Leaders on a state visit are routinely offered an honour by the Queen on the
advice of the Foreign Office. Mr Brown is in talks with other countries about a tougher range of sanctions
against Zimbabwe to mark international revulsion at the way Mugabe has trampled
democracy in what was once one of Africa's most succcessful countries. In the Commons this week, he called on other countries to help bar Zimbabwe
from cricket's Twenty 20 World Cup being hosted by England next year. The ECB ban will apply to two Test matches and one day fixtures planned for
next year's tour, but the ICC has to approve the team's bar from the Twenty 20
series. "We want to ensure that Zimbabwe does not tour England next year," Mr Brown
said at Prime Minister's question time. He said the whole world had woken up to the "evils" of Mugabe's "criminal
cabal" and he held out the prospect called for a "peaceful transition"
government as soon as possible. Tory leader David Cameron urged Mr Brown to act against British companies
with investments in Zimbabwe that could be propping up the regime. But major companies led by Tesco's, Barclay's and mining giant Anglo American
defended their involvement as crucial to the people of Zimbabwe and their
chances of rebuilding their economy if Mugabe goes. Downing Street confirmed that it was looking at ways of applying sanctions to
the key people around Mugabe who are orchestrating his terror campaign. Mr Cameron called on the Prime Minister to push for a declaration at the
forthcoming G8 summit that all states should cease to "prop up the regime and
refuse to recognise its legitimacy". Mr Brown said: "I agree also that businesses should look at their involvement
in Zimbabwe. We will force through sanctions against the individuals that are
part of the regime. We don't want to do further damage to the Zimbabwean
people. "But, of course, where businesses are helping the Zimbabwean regime they
should reconsider their position now. Zimbabwean Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is greeted
by joyful supporters as he briefly emerges from the Dutch embassy on
Wednesday "I believe the whole world has woken up to the evils that have been going on
in Zimbabwe. I believe the whole international community, with a few exceptions,
is now united in calling for action." Tesco confirmed it would not be pulling out of Zimbabwe, despite growing
complaints about supermarkets selling produce from the country. Campaigners claim their investment helps prop up Mugabe and say the companies
should not be profiting from Zimbabwean food exports when millions in the
country are starving. Tesco said trade was providing crucial support to small farmers, adding it
would be "irresponsible" to leave under the current conditions. A spokesman said: "By trading with Zimbabwe we are supporting hundreds of
small farmers and not the Mugabe government. "When the current political crisis in Zimbabwe is resolved, the country will
need every trading partner it can get to re-establish its economy and social
infrastructure. "At the moment there is precious little employment of any sort in Zimbabwe
and it would simply be irresponsible to deprive thousands of people of their
only means of feeding their families." Tesco is among a number of British supermarkets who sell vegetables ranging
from sugar snap peas to fine beans. Anglo-American boss Sir Mark Moody-Stuart defended his company's plans to
build a platinum mine in Zimbabwe. He said pulling out would help Mugabe and hurt the country's people's. "I
agree that companies should look very carefully at what they are doing and be
sure that they are not contributing to the problem. I believe that we are a
positive benefit. "We don't run our business purely on popularity; we have to do what we,
looking carefully into our own hearts and our own souls, consider to be
responsible." Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: "We welcome the Government's
decision to strip Mugabe of his knighthood. It is something we called for nearly
a year ago. "The brutality he has shown to his own people and the disaster he brought
upon his own country made Robert Mugabe utterly unworthy of this honour." Zimbabwe has already lost support in the cricketing world, and is likely to
see itself excluded when the ICC vote next Wednesday. If Zimbabwe survives the
vote however, England would have to decide whether to withdraw as host of the
Twenty20 tournament. The Government's intervention to ban the Tests and one-day tour means the ECB
will avoid the statutory £1million fine for scratching a series. ---------- Comments
Last updated at 7:32 PM on 25th June 2008
Mandela sad and concerned about Zimbabwe-media
Reuters
Wed 25 Jun
2008, 17:34 GMT
LONDON, June 25 (Reuters) - Former South African
President Nelson Mandela
has broken his silence over the situation in
Zimbabwe expressing "deep
concern and sadness", according to a source quoted
by Britain's Channel Four
television on Wednesday.
It said the source
close to Mandela, who will address a dinner in London on
Wednesday evening,
added that given the former president's previous refusal
to speak out on
current political issues this was a "very strong statement".
Anglo reviewing platinum project in Zim
http://www.ibtimes.com
Tessa Kruger
25 June 2008 @ 01:14 pm EST
Anglo
American could not give a definitive answer yet on the future of its
Unki
platinum project in Zimbabwe as the company was reviewing the "fluid"
situation in the country on a "very regular" basis.
The company
spokesperson in London, James Wyatt-Tilby, said Wednesday that
Anglo had to
keep a very close eye on what was going on in Zimbabwe as it
was deeply
concerned about the political situation in the country.
"We made it clear
in our statement that in happy circumstance we can develop
the project into
a long-term viable business," Wyatt-Tilby said. But we
can't give a firm
answer yet, as we are continuing to review the situation."
Anglo American
said in a statement today it was reviewing "all options"
around the
development of the Unki platinum project in Zimbabwe.
The project was a
long-term investment for a mine which is yet to start
production and will
not generate revenue for some years. It has been made
clear to the mining
company that the Zimbabwean government would assume
control of the project
if its development was halted.
Anglo said it had a clear responsibility
to protect the wellbeing of its
more than 650 employees and contractors, as
well as their families and those
who depended indirectly on the activity
around the project.
Wyatt-Tilby said the company's statement came in
reaction to press reports.
The project that has been developed by Anglo
American since 2003 is due to
produce about 58 000 ounces of refined
platinum annually.
Investing in Zimbabwe or investing in Mugabe?
Economic sanctions would hurt
ordinary people, but big business must
consider its human rights
obligations
Gugulethu Moyo
guardian.co.uk,
Wednesday June 25,
2008
It's tough doing business in the Zimbabwe. Corporate executives
operating in
the basketcase economy have so much to worry about: 1,600,000%
inflation,
frequent power and water outages, an unpredictable legal
environment and bad
politics. And for some managers, things just got
harder.
Multinational corporations operating in Zimbabwe are increasingly
the target
of human rights campaigners. Directors of the global marketing
company Young
& Rubicam are reported to be making hasty efforts to
divest themselves their
interests in a Zimbabwean publicity company that is
behind Robert Mugabe's
presidential election campaign. "We are just anxious
to end any possible
connection between ourselves and that disgraceful
regime," Bernard Barnett,
Young & Rubicam corporate vice-president in
London, told a South African
weekend newspaper.
Paarl Web, a
subsidiary of international media giant Naspers, today
announced it would
donate all the revenue from a print job for Mugabe's
campaign to "the people
of Zimbabwe". And the London-based mining company,
Anglo American is
reported to be under Foreign Office investigation for a
new £200m investment
in Zimbabwe, which is thought to be the largest foreign
investment in
country to date.
Some would say that placing the spotlight on private
sector actors in
Zimbabwe unfairly shifts scrutiny from the failings of
governments, which
are primarily responsible in international law for the
protection of human
rights. This, rightly or wrongly, assumes the supremacy
of politics over
business.
Yet, few would deny that business and
business leaders have great influence
in our society and control huge
resources. And, realising the pivotal role
businesses play in supporting
governmental activity in Zimbabwe, rights
campaigners have started to
challenge foreign investors, in particular, to
think and act carefully about
their responsibilities in relation to the
political crisis in
Zimbabwe.
Most likely, campaigners will not be the only ones turning up
the heat.
Institutional investors, particularly those involved in socially
responsible
funds, nowadays ask more questions about governance, ethics and
human
rights. Public companies, such as Anglo American, are owned to a great
extent by institutional shareholders. Much of the money controlled by those
institutions belongs to ordinary people, in the form of their pension funds.
Such people have little opportunity to influence the way companies are run
but, if they were asked, they would, surely, say they want companies to act
responsibly where their business conduct may have significant consequences
for human rights.
And it seems right, also, that where, as in the
case of Zimbabwe, the
elected governments of the home countries of many of
these companies have in
place policies aimed at encouraging reform of human
rights practices, the
conduct of businesses from the human rights promoting
countries should not
undermine these policies. So, whether they like it or
not, multinational
corporations in Zimbabwe can expect increasingly to be
drawn into the debate
about how to improve the human rights
situation.
The simplest solution might be for a company like Anglo
American just to
stop doing business in Zimbabwe. But this is not a
solution, especially when
the population will suffer as a result - for
example, the rate of
unemployment in Zimbabwe is estimated to be over 80%;
if Anglo American were
to close its business there, thousands of people and
businesses would
suffer.
And on their own, individual companies
cannot solve the complex problems of
Zimbabwe. It is unrealistic to expect
that multinationals will succeed in
forcing governments to respect human
rights where international pressure has
so far failed.
But this
limitation does not absolve business. Protection of human dignity
and
respect for human rights are essential to sustain political stability,
to
encourage economic and social development, and it is vital that global
norms
and standards on human rights should be adhered to by governments and
companies alike.
Many multinational companies, including Anglo
American, have signed up to
voluntary arrangements that seek to regulate the
human rights impact of
their business activity. But the lack of clarity as
to what, in practice,
these principles translate into, and the patchiness of
company disclosures
on the policies and procedural guidelines which they
have in place to
implement their worthy principles, are not in anyone's
interest, least of
all businesses'.
It is clear that there are
serious practical and legal problems in
identifying one, catch-all framework
for the human rights responsibility of
business. But the absence of
convincing, self-regulatory practice only
strengthens the hand of
campaigners.
For corporate executives operating in Zimbabwe the question
of how to behave
in such an environment cannot wait till there is an agreed
international
standard. The pressures are immediate, as Young & Rubicam
and Paarl Web have
discovered this week.
Roy Bennett, treasurer
general of the Movement for Democratic Change, today
told international
business news channel CNBC that an MDC government would
call Anglo American
and other companies to account for "aiding and abetting"
Mugabe's regime.
Corporate executives of companies in Zimbabwe must
seriously consider their
human rights responsibilities in the present
environment and disclose their
policies. It is in their interests to do so.
Zimbabwe - Negotiations must not lead to further impunity
http://www.swradioafrica.com
Glen Mpani & Nahla
Valji
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's announcement that he will not
contest
Zimbabwe's presidential election this week has been greeted in some
quarters
by renewed calls for talks towards a negotiated settlement and a
possible
Government of National Unity as an interim measure until proper
elections
can take place. The MDC has stated that it will make known its own
proposed
way forward for the country on Wednesday, after further
consultations with
the Zimbabwean people.
The likely scenario from
here is one that sees the international community -
and SADC in particular -
stepping in to push for talks and a negotiated
settlement. Given that Mugabe
now sees himself as the uncontested President
elect will likely make any
negotiated solution more difficult, and only
substantial pressure from
African leaders will make a resolution possible.
Moments of negotiation
are crucial junctures for a country, laying as they
do the blueprint not
just for institutional recovery and reconstruction but
also for issues of
accountability for past crimes. The very real danger that
now faces Zimbabwe
is the threat of an entrenched impunity - that Zanu-PF
will use the
opportunity - and the strengthened hand gained by the terror
and violence
they have unleashed - to ensure that there are no
accountability mechanisms
for the widespread crimes that have occurred with
increasing brutality and
frequency not just over the past 8 years, but going
back to the Matabeleland
massacres of the 1980s.
There have been strengthened calls from Western
nations this week that
Mugabe be indicted on charges of crimes against
humanity, and transferred to
the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
There is certainly no lack of
documentation to support such charges. Local
civil society has against all
odds continued to document the incidents of
torture, forced disappearance,
illegal detention, arson, forced
displacement, sexual violence and more.
Additionally a new IDASA report
notes that the growing levels of violence
since 2000 are clearly state
sponsored and meet the criteria of crimes
against humanity.
Whilst
Mugabe must surely face charges for the atrocities that have been
perpetrated - and these crimes would include forced displacement and the
range of socio-economic atrocities that have been perpetrated - such calls
at this point in time are likely to only push Mugabe to entrench his
position further in an effort to retain power and stave off possible
prosecution. Threats of prosecution by the ICC are also likely to play into
Mugabe's construction of himself as the true African leader being persecuted
by the West who wishes to reestablish colonial control. More importantly,
the focus we have seen to date only on Mugabe obscures issues of wider
accountability and the related challenges Zimbabwe will face during its
eventual transition and reconstruction.
Since 2000 the role of the
state and its institutions - particularly the
police and military - have
been directly and indirectly implicated in state
terror. In recent months,
their involvement has grown, and whilst some argue
that the youth militias
perpetrating the worst of the violence are now
beyond even the control of
Zanu-PF, their actions are undoubtedly encouraged
by the ongoing incitement
to violence by government leaders as well as the
promise of impunity. The
police and the army in Zimbabwe have joined the
ranks of those participating
in the violence with the acquiescence of the
judiciary. Due process and the
rule of law have been subverted, and the
courts are no longer used for those
in need of justice, but rather to serve
the interests of an illegitimate
regime. Reports of police arresting torture
victims, and of judges hauling
them up for prosecution, demonstrates the
extent to which the apparatuses of
state have been captured not to serve but
rather to oppress the
people.
Not only have state organs allowed violations to occur, the heads
of
Zimbabwe's defence, intelligence, police and prisons establishments have
openly stated that they will not serve anyone but Mugabe and
Zanu-PF.
As a result of these factors, the Zimbabwean problem lies
squarely in the
politicization of its institutions of justice, a complete
absence of
accountability or rule of law and a political culture of
intolerance and
impunity. Reconstruction will not only need to focus on
righting the
economy, addressing rampant and uncontrolled inflation, and
reversing the
severe brain drain. Reconstruction will also need to address
every aspect of
governance. Most urgent will be the need for institutional
transformation of
the security sector and judiciary. Confidence in the
courts and the police
has been eroded. Rebuilding the country will require
restoring trust amongst
citizens in their state and its institutions. If
trust isn't rebuilt then
democracy will not take root. As has been shown by
so many countries
transitioning out of conflict and violence, a lack of
trust in judicial and
policing institutions during this period manifests
itself in increasing
levels of crime and violence as a security vacuum
occurs, undermining any
efforts at stabilization and development.
The
challenge will be to reform these institutions and reestablish trust and
respect for the rule of law without wiping out an already depleted skills
base. Any negotiations that now take place must put the people's interests
first - and whatever the outcome, they must not subvert the possibility for
justice in the future. Whilst there may be a need to think through the
realistic timing of accountability measures and a definition of
accountability that moves beyond mere criminal justice, no legitimate
solution to Zimbabwe can ignore redress and justice for victims of these
violent crimes, nor fail to put on the table a road map for the reform and
restructuring of the near collapsed institutions of justice and governance.
Without a focus on these issues, whatever solution the coming weeks bring,
Zimbabwe may well continue on its path to a failed state.
Glen Mpani
is Regional Coordinator and Nahla Valji is a Senior Project
Manager in the
Transitional Justice Programme at the Centre for the Study of
Violence and
Reconciliation.
Zimbabwe's challenging business world
|
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 18:49
UK
|
With inflation at several million percent, miles of government red tape and a vanishing domestic market, running a business in Zimbabwe is not easy. And yet, somehow, large private Zimbabwean companies are still able to function. The chief executive of a leading steel business, who for security reasons has asked that his identity is kept secret, has been speaking to the BBC World Service about the daily business conditions he faces. "It's not much fun," he said. "I'm surrounded by junior employees who are not paid enough money to survive adequately and who you feel can't give their best because they haven't had a decent meal the night before." Changing prices The company, which has several operations around the country, employs about 500 people. On the surface, those employees might be considered lucky - at least they have jobs - but the executive told the BBC he was "depressed" he couldn't properly pay them enough to survive or feed their families. "I think a lot of people come to work for the good, square meal we try to give them at lunch-time," he said, "but even finding the food to keep our canteen going is not easy." The executive also told the BBC about the nightmare of trying to navigate through the unstable economic conditions. In Zimbabwe, the price of goods changes daily, making it extremely difficult to establish the value of a product. A company may write up an invoice for a product and send it to its buyer, but by the time the buyer receives the bill, the price has changed and everything has to be adjusted. Loopholes "You're constantly chasing your tail," said the executive. He also lamented the experience of taking clients out for lunch. "When I go on a business trip," he said, "I'll probably have to take somewhere in the order of four hundred to five hundred billion |
Who gave this character a blooming knighthood?
- Graeme, Canterbury, Kent, 26/6/2008 2:14
About time!
- Liz, London, 26/6/2008 2:15
Stop the aid too.
- Simon, Durham, UK, 26/6/2008 2:21
Bet he is shaking in his shoes!
- Annette Shaw, Hamilton, Scotland, 26/6/2008 2:28
I believe in flying pigs! What's that! Finally a piece of common sense from the government!
- James Campbell, England, 26/6/2008 2:31
About time too.
- Amy, Sussex, 26/6/2008 2:32
Does anyone really believe that removing his knighthood will make any difference. Let's get real.
- A Langley, Sittingbourne, Kent, 26/6/2008 2:35
Big deal! I'll bet Mugabe is splitting his sides laughing at this piece of totally ineffective gesturing.
- Terence, Hereford, UK, 26/6/2008 2:47
He needs more than his knighthood removed! Why aren't troops being sent in to get rid of him and his followers - silly me there is no oil in Zimbabwe!
- Karen, Southampton, 26/6/2008 2:49
First no cricket, and now no Knighthood. I imagine that Mugabe is shaking in his boots! Gordon Clown is so masterful.
- Geoff Stringer, Southend-on-Sea, Essex., 26/6/2008 2:49
Only now? So everything he did thus far was OK? A bit late coming if you ask me!
- Michael, London, 26/6/2008 2:50
So why did he get it?
- Roger, London, 26/6/2008 2:52
Shows just what a judge of character Miliband was even that long ago because Mugabe has ALWAYS been a tyrant and there he was recommending him for a knighthood when he wasn't fit to lick Maggie Thatchers shoes?
- Patrick, Cadiz, Spain English ex-pat, 26/6/2008 2:52
Isn't this the same government who recently said it would be counter-productive to strip him of his knighthood. Yet more flip-flopping by a government in crisis.
- Alan, Florida, USA, 26/6/2008 3:02
What does removing a medal do to a man who is willing to kill to stay in power.
- Sue, Street, Somerset, 26/6/2008 3:02
Whilst it is commendable that at last our government is being seen to take some form of action against this dreadful man, it's too little and too late and I can't really see what difference it will make in Zimbabwe.
- Judith, London, England, 26/6/2008 3:04
Big deal. Years too late.
- Raoul, Sutton UK, 26/6/2008 3:05
Graeme Canterbury, "who gave this character a blooming knighthood"? Well according to the article it was recommended by David Milliband, Britain's next prospective PM.
- Mike, Paphos, 26/6/2008 3:08
Of course Langley, maybe not now but in the future history will record this event.
To be stripped of your knighthood is quite serious.
The events in Zimbabwe speak for themselves.
- Ashtonian, Burbank, California, 26/6/2008 3:13
Ooh! Ooh! I bet he is so scared now!
- Philip Meers, Birmingham, 26/6/2008 3:15
...and while she's about it why doesn't she dissolve her own undemocratic government?
- Paul Fretwell, Benfleet, Essex, 26/6/2008 3:19
Its about time this dictator was put in jail and the key thrown away. This is a good way to punish him what the British Government are doing. Down with him, he should have been punished a long time ago.
- Hazel Avery, SanDiego, USA, 26/6/2008 3:20
I didn't even know he had a knighthood! Why was he given it?
- Bethan, Cardiff, 26/6/2008 3:26
Seems more likely that Burnham is trying to get what little creditability he has back after last weeks slur and embarrassing local election comments.
- David Marsh, Dunmow, Essex, 26/6/2008 3:29
Funny old world, he is killing thousands and we stop him playing cricket.
- Eric G Mitchell, Larnaca Cyprus, 26/6/2008 3:38
How this administration can accuse anyone else of 'abject disregard for democracy' and keep a straight face is amazing! - are we not 'governed' by an unelected Prime Minister? Are we to have the promised European constitution referendum?
Has no-one else noticed the hypocrisy here?
- Fez, Sheffield, UK, 26/6/2008 3:42
Wow, that will show him, he won't bat an eyelid.
- Baz, South Normanton, Derbyshire, 26/6/2008 3:44
About time too.
- John Groves, Shrops, 26/6/2008 3:45
And this is going to worry Mugabe - HOW?
If that is all we can do - no wonder he is laughing at us. He must be shaking in his boots. Its absolutely disgraceful that the African nations have not done more to stop Muagbe and his henchmen. And the UN - wow what power and strength. We should be glad we have such an ineffective organisation keeping the peace. Evil dictators must be really worried.
Its about time someone was sent in to get rid of Mugabe - where are mercenaries when you need them.
- Tara, Oxfordshire, 26/6/2008 3:45
Stop sending aid to the region, and make the other African countries sort this man and his evil out.
You can name and shame anyone you like Brown, that does nothing, Britain and the West has to take action by withdrawing the support these lazy countries receive.
- Karen, ex pat USA, 26/6/2008 3:48
Boy, that'll show him! He must be quaking in his boots. What next? We'll all hold our breath and turn blue?
- R M, London UK, 26/6/2008 3:51
WOW savage stuff, I bet he's quaking in his boots now. [/sarcasm off]
- Steve, Lincoln, Uk, 26/6/2008 3:52