Marikana action is a strike by the poor
Marikana was a war zone: Burger
Showing posts with label Zanu-PF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zanu-PF. Show all posts
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Marikana and the man with the green blanket
The women of a South African community are coming to terms with a week of bloodshed that culminated with the deaths of 34 workers shot by police on Thursday during a protest at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana.
A stick to being used to beat Zuma? Just a thought …
Marikana action is a strike by the poor
Marikana was a war zone: Burger
Marikana action is a strike by the poor
Marikana was a war zone: Burger
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
The communists have got this right
Here’s something important to read and understand. From a South African Communist Party Central Committee statement released today – I just caught it on Politicsweb here.
You can disagree with the communists about a range of points of strategy and of principle, but they accurately and urgently identify populism as exemplified by the ANC Youth League ruling faction (and be clear, this is what they are talking about) as the greatest threat to the ruling alliance and, more importantly, to the South African democracy.
This is their call to arms:
The communist leadership has dissipate into government and its voice has been softer and more defensive as a result. It remains to be seen if the party is still able to crack the whip loud enough to drive our domestic version of Zanu-PF back into its cage.
Source: Nic Borain
You can disagree with the communists about a range of points of strategy and of principle, but they accurately and urgently identify populism as exemplified by the ANC Youth League ruling faction (and be clear, this is what they are talking about) as the greatest threat to the ruling alliance and, more importantly, to the South African democracy.
This is their call to arms:
We are dealing with an anti-worker, anti-left, anti-communist, pseudo-militant demagogy that betrays all of our long-held ANC-alliance traditions of internal organizational democracy, mutual respect for comrades, non-racialism, and service to our people. It has created substantial space for an anti-majoritarian, conservative reactive groundswell that seeks to tarnish the whole movement, portraying us all as anti-constitutionalist and as narrow nationalist chauvinists.It was only a matter of time before a rescue attempt of the sliding democratic project was launched from within the alliance. It was always going to come either from Cosatu or the SACP – and despite its lack of a mass base, the SACP is more venerable and respected within the ANC
The communist leadership has dissipate into government and its voice has been softer and more defensive as a result. It remains to be seen if the party is still able to crack the whip loud enough to drive our domestic version of Zanu-PF back into its cage.
Source: Nic Borain
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Zanu PF ministers protect diamond barons
Two senior Zanu PF politburo members, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Didymus Mutasa and his Indigenisation counterpart Saviour Kasukuwere, have been linked to Israeli and Russian underworld gold and diamond dealers who were recently deported after a raid on their hideout in Harare’s Glen Lorne suburb. The incident helped to shed light on activities in the underworld of diamond and other precious mineral dealings, as well as the nexus between politics and dirty business. For some time there have been reports that senior Zanu PF officials, including ministers and politburo members, are minting money in criminal underworld deals involving mainly diamonds and gold. The situation deteriorated after the discovery of alluvial diamonds in Chiadzwa.
Mutasa and Kasukuwere’s alleged links to the gangland dealers were discovered during a raid last month on a hideout located at Number 57 Follyjon Crescent by crack units drawn from the police, immigration, Central Intelligence Organisation and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority. The swoop on the house — believed to be owned by Thamer Al Shanfari, the former chairman of Cayman Islands - based mining company Oryx Natural Resources (ONR) — on January 3 led to the arrest of a Russian national, Alexander Filegon alias Alexander Filatov, and an Israeli, Mike Raslan, who were said to be diamond and gold dealers. Filegon and Raslan were later deported.
It was during the raid at Number 57 Follyjon – a popular rendezvous for hardened dealers frequented by Zanu PF ministers and politburo members – that Mutasa and Kasukuwere’s names cropped up. Security agents who were part of the raid said Filegon and Raslan were unshaken by the raid despite the serious allegations levelled against them, boasting they were well-connected and nothing would happen to them.
“During the raid one of the major issues of interest was that Raslan and Filegon appeared unperturbed by the swoop by security units and the subsequent searches despite the seriousness of the allegations,” one of the security agents involved told the Zimbabwe Independent this week. “In fact, Raslan boasted that he is well-connected within the Zanu PF top hierarchy and alleged that he has been involved in a mining joint-venture with the first family in the DRC. He proceeded to show his political connections by summoning ministers Didymus Mutasa and Saviour Kasukuwere to witness the raid and the ministers came.”
Wealthy dealers in Zimbabwe of all shades often claim without producing evidence that they are working with or for the first family either to get protection or intimidate their business partners and clients. Their allegations have been denied. Security agents conducting the searches said they ignored the ministers as they proceeded to ransack the premises but a furious Mutasa sprung into action by blocking the exit gate and delayed the team’s departure after conducting the raid.
Another security agent involved in the raid said: “It was clear the ministers and those dealers were working in cahoots because Mutasa, visibly angry, even blocked the exit gate and delayed the security team’s exit from the premises after the end of the search,” the security agent said. Although no diamonds or cash were discovered at the premises, Filegon, who was accused of violating immigration laws and working in the country as a “geological consultant” at Benson mine in Mutoko on a tourist visa, and Raslan were both arrested and later deported.
Francis Mabika, an Assistant Regional Immigration Officer, yesterday confirmed the pair had been deported. Mutasa also confirmed visiting the house during the raid but denied trying to protect Filegon and Raslan. “Was there an announcement that there would be a raid? I was just visiting the place and I was unaware that there would be a raid,” he said. Mutasa said allegations that he came to the house after being called by Raslan were “absolutely nonsense” adding, “I don’t do things like that.”
Kasukuwere said he had gone to the house for a meeting with South African businessmen to explain the indigenisation policy and not to rescue Raslan and Filegon. He said he did not know the two but was there at the invitation of Shanfari, whom he said was a major investor in the country. “We were there for a separate meeting. We had a prior business meeting. I don’t interfere with the law. I don’t know the two you are talking about. I was there to see the owner of the house,” Kasukuwere said. “There were some South African businesspeople, who wanted to understand the business climate in the country and the issue of indigenisation. Some are interested in investing in Zimbabwe. By the time we got there, they were refusing to open the gate for officials and I told them to open it and cooperate.”
In 2008, Shanfari was put on the United States government sanctions list because of his links to President Robert Mugabe and ONR, but he issued a statement denying the links and said he resigned from the company in 2002. Shanfari was also mentioned in a report produced by a panel of United Nations experts titled the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and other forms of wealth of the Democratic Republic of Congo, dated October 8, 2002. The report alleged that ONR represented covert Zimbabwean military financial interests in negotiations with state mining companies in the DRC. The report also alleged ONR and Shanfari were engaged in the illegal trafficking of blood diamonds from the DRC and were financing Zanu PF during elections.
The raid at the house was led by a senior immigration official, Evans Siziba, after whistle blowers revealed the two were dealing in diamonds and had stashed about US$400 000 at the premises while trading in illegal diamonds and gold. There were also allegations they had smuggled two Toyota Fortunes and a Toyota Hilux into the country without paying duty. Detectives from the Minerals and Border Control Unit impounded the vehicles on February 1.
Source: Nehanda Radio
Mutasa and Kasukuwere’s alleged links to the gangland dealers were discovered during a raid last month on a hideout located at Number 57 Follyjon Crescent by crack units drawn from the police, immigration, Central Intelligence Organisation and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority. The swoop on the house — believed to be owned by Thamer Al Shanfari, the former chairman of Cayman Islands - based mining company Oryx Natural Resources (ONR) — on January 3 led to the arrest of a Russian national, Alexander Filegon alias Alexander Filatov, and an Israeli, Mike Raslan, who were said to be diamond and gold dealers. Filegon and Raslan were later deported.
It was during the raid at Number 57 Follyjon – a popular rendezvous for hardened dealers frequented by Zanu PF ministers and politburo members – that Mutasa and Kasukuwere’s names cropped up. Security agents who were part of the raid said Filegon and Raslan were unshaken by the raid despite the serious allegations levelled against them, boasting they were well-connected and nothing would happen to them.
“During the raid one of the major issues of interest was that Raslan and Filegon appeared unperturbed by the swoop by security units and the subsequent searches despite the seriousness of the allegations,” one of the security agents involved told the Zimbabwe Independent this week. “In fact, Raslan boasted that he is well-connected within the Zanu PF top hierarchy and alleged that he has been involved in a mining joint-venture with the first family in the DRC. He proceeded to show his political connections by summoning ministers Didymus Mutasa and Saviour Kasukuwere to witness the raid and the ministers came.”
Wealthy dealers in Zimbabwe of all shades often claim without producing evidence that they are working with or for the first family either to get protection or intimidate their business partners and clients. Their allegations have been denied. Security agents conducting the searches said they ignored the ministers as they proceeded to ransack the premises but a furious Mutasa sprung into action by blocking the exit gate and delayed the team’s departure after conducting the raid.
Another security agent involved in the raid said: “It was clear the ministers and those dealers were working in cahoots because Mutasa, visibly angry, even blocked the exit gate and delayed the security team’s exit from the premises after the end of the search,” the security agent said. Although no diamonds or cash were discovered at the premises, Filegon, who was accused of violating immigration laws and working in the country as a “geological consultant” at Benson mine in Mutoko on a tourist visa, and Raslan were both arrested and later deported.
Francis Mabika, an Assistant Regional Immigration Officer, yesterday confirmed the pair had been deported. Mutasa also confirmed visiting the house during the raid but denied trying to protect Filegon and Raslan. “Was there an announcement that there would be a raid? I was just visiting the place and I was unaware that there would be a raid,” he said. Mutasa said allegations that he came to the house after being called by Raslan were “absolutely nonsense” adding, “I don’t do things like that.”
Kasukuwere said he had gone to the house for a meeting with South African businessmen to explain the indigenisation policy and not to rescue Raslan and Filegon. He said he did not know the two but was there at the invitation of Shanfari, whom he said was a major investor in the country. “We were there for a separate meeting. We had a prior business meeting. I don’t interfere with the law. I don’t know the two you are talking about. I was there to see the owner of the house,” Kasukuwere said. “There were some South African businesspeople, who wanted to understand the business climate in the country and the issue of indigenisation. Some are interested in investing in Zimbabwe. By the time we got there, they were refusing to open the gate for officials and I told them to open it and cooperate.”
In 2008, Shanfari was put on the United States government sanctions list because of his links to President Robert Mugabe and ONR, but he issued a statement denying the links and said he resigned from the company in 2002. Shanfari was also mentioned in a report produced by a panel of United Nations experts titled the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and other forms of wealth of the Democratic Republic of Congo, dated October 8, 2002. The report alleged that ONR represented covert Zimbabwean military financial interests in negotiations with state mining companies in the DRC. The report also alleged ONR and Shanfari were engaged in the illegal trafficking of blood diamonds from the DRC and were financing Zanu PF during elections.
The raid at the house was led by a senior immigration official, Evans Siziba, after whistle blowers revealed the two were dealing in diamonds and had stashed about US$400 000 at the premises while trading in illegal diamonds and gold. There were also allegations they had smuggled two Toyota Fortunes and a Toyota Hilux into the country without paying duty. Detectives from the Minerals and Border Control Unit impounded the vehicles on February 1.
Source: Nehanda Radio
Monday, March 19, 2012
Zimbabwe Convicts 6 Who Viewed Revolt News
Six political activists in Zimbabwe who gathered last year to watch and discuss television news broadcasts of the Arab Spring protests were convicted on Monday of conspiring to commit violence in an effort to overthrow the government. The penalty could be 10 years in prison. They are to be sentenced on Tuesday.
About 45 activists, students and trade unionists were arrested last February while attending a meeting convened by Munyaradzi Gwisai, a lecturer at the law school at the University of Zimbabwe and a former member of Parliament for Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, to discuss the antiauthoritarian uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
Prosecutors claimed that Mr. Gwisai and the others were planning to start a similar uprising in Zimbabwe aimed at toppling President Robert G. Mugabe, who has been in power for three decades. Most of the defendants were later released, but six, including Mr. Gwisai, were charged with serious crimes. Lawyers for the accused said the meeting was an academic discussion, not a planning session for a revolution.
The judge in the case, Kudakwashe Jarabini, said in court that while watching videos of the Arab uprisings was not a crime, the organizers had intended to incite hostility toward the government by playing them, according to people in the courtroom.
Mr. Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party has been in a tenuous unity government with the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, since the 2008 election. Mr. Tsvangirai won the most votes but dropped out of the race because of violence against his supporters. International pressure led to the creation of a unity government. But Mr. Mugabe retained the most crucial government posts, particularly those that control the police and the army.
Mr. Mugabe’s party has been pushing hard for new elections, hoping to retake power while Mr. Mugabe, 88, whose health has grown more fragile, remains alive. But the Movement for Democratic Change and many activists and analysts have argued against holding elections before a new constitution is drawn up and crucial institutions, like the election commission, are reformed. An estimated 350 people died in violence during the 2008 election.
Shortly after the 45 activists were arrested last year, a lawyer working for them reported that a dozen had been tortured to try to force them to testify for the state and that six had been lashed. The accusations prompted a letter of concern from the United Nations torture investigator, Juan E. Méndez.
Dewa Mavhinga of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, a collection of hundreds of civic groups, said it appeared that the window for change in Zimbabwe was closing. “It is an indicator that we are really going towards elections and that the democratic space that was previously somewhat open is quickly closing down,” Mr. Mavhinga said. “There is no crime that has been committed. It is a political issue that is being dealt with by a politicized and severely compromised judiciary.”
Source: New York Times
About 45 activists, students and trade unionists were arrested last February while attending a meeting convened by Munyaradzi Gwisai, a lecturer at the law school at the University of Zimbabwe and a former member of Parliament for Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, to discuss the antiauthoritarian uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
Prosecutors claimed that Mr. Gwisai and the others were planning to start a similar uprising in Zimbabwe aimed at toppling President Robert G. Mugabe, who has been in power for three decades. Most of the defendants were later released, but six, including Mr. Gwisai, were charged with serious crimes. Lawyers for the accused said the meeting was an academic discussion, not a planning session for a revolution.
The judge in the case, Kudakwashe Jarabini, said in court that while watching videos of the Arab uprisings was not a crime, the organizers had intended to incite hostility toward the government by playing them, according to people in the courtroom.
Mr. Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party has been in a tenuous unity government with the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, since the 2008 election. Mr. Tsvangirai won the most votes but dropped out of the race because of violence against his supporters. International pressure led to the creation of a unity government. But Mr. Mugabe retained the most crucial government posts, particularly those that control the police and the army.
Mr. Mugabe’s party has been pushing hard for new elections, hoping to retake power while Mr. Mugabe, 88, whose health has grown more fragile, remains alive. But the Movement for Democratic Change and many activists and analysts have argued against holding elections before a new constitution is drawn up and crucial institutions, like the election commission, are reformed. An estimated 350 people died in violence during the 2008 election.
Shortly after the 45 activists were arrested last year, a lawyer working for them reported that a dozen had been tortured to try to force them to testify for the state and that six had been lashed. The accusations prompted a letter of concern from the United Nations torture investigator, Juan E. Méndez.
Dewa Mavhinga of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, a collection of hundreds of civic groups, said it appeared that the window for change in Zimbabwe was closing. “It is an indicator that we are really going towards elections and that the democratic space that was previously somewhat open is quickly closing down,” Mr. Mavhinga said. “There is no crime that has been committed. It is a political issue that is being dealt with by a politicized and severely compromised judiciary.”
Source: New York Times
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Mugabe's diamond mine 'war chest'
A Zimbabwean diamond field said to be the largest in the world is being mined by companies staffed by Robert Mugabe's police and military chiefs who may use the proceeds as a "war chest" to crack down on opponents, says an anti-corruption watchdog. A study by Global Witness marks the first comprehensive attempt to pin down ownership of two companies awarded the rights to mine at Marange since concessions were awarded by the mining ministry four years ago.
It reveals that one company has, among its directors, members of Mugabe's security services who have previously been implicated in vote-rigging and political violence in the run-up to elections. The other is part-owned by companies registered in tax havens such as Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands, making its beneficiaries virtually impossible to identify. Tendai Biti, the finance minister and a member of the Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe's fractious coalition government, has repeatedly complained about the disappearance of diamond revenues, which it was hoped might help to revive the shattered economy.
Global Witness claims that instead, the security forces could be channelling the profits into a "war chest" that could be used to act against dissenting voices in elections expected this year or next. Marange diamond fields made international headlines in 2008 when they were seized by the Zimbabwean military. Last year, Global Witness claimed locals were being forced to work for soldiers, then smuggle the stones over the Mozambican border. After widespread outrage, the fields were divided up among favoured companies. Leading the pack were the Chinese, whose Exim bank provided the Zimbabweans with a $98-million loan to rebuild their defence college in return for a concession.
Anjin, a joint venture between a Chinese and a Zimbabwean company, intends to produce two million carats a month. According to Global Witness, Anjin has on its board a number of people close to Mugabe. Its company secretary is listed as being Charles Tarumbwa, a brigadier on the EU sanctions list for his role in terror campaigns.
The second company, Mbada, is run by Robert Mhlanga, a former air vice-marshal in the Zimbabwean air force. It is linked to a network of companies based in Mauritius, Dubai, the British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong. Biti said the results of the study did not surprise him. "I know the money [from the sale of Marange diamonds] is being stolen, but I don't have any proof of how it is being stolen," he said. Neither Anjin nor Mbada could be reached for comment.
Source: Times Live
It reveals that one company has, among its directors, members of Mugabe's security services who have previously been implicated in vote-rigging and political violence in the run-up to elections. The other is part-owned by companies registered in tax havens such as Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands, making its beneficiaries virtually impossible to identify. Tendai Biti, the finance minister and a member of the Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe's fractious coalition government, has repeatedly complained about the disappearance of diamond revenues, which it was hoped might help to revive the shattered economy.
Global Witness claims that instead, the security forces could be channelling the profits into a "war chest" that could be used to act against dissenting voices in elections expected this year or next. Marange diamond fields made international headlines in 2008 when they were seized by the Zimbabwean military. Last year, Global Witness claimed locals were being forced to work for soldiers, then smuggle the stones over the Mozambican border. After widespread outrage, the fields were divided up among favoured companies. Leading the pack were the Chinese, whose Exim bank provided the Zimbabweans with a $98-million loan to rebuild their defence college in return for a concession.
Anjin, a joint venture between a Chinese and a Zimbabwean company, intends to produce two million carats a month. According to Global Witness, Anjin has on its board a number of people close to Mugabe. Its company secretary is listed as being Charles Tarumbwa, a brigadier on the EU sanctions list for his role in terror campaigns.
The second company, Mbada, is run by Robert Mhlanga, a former air vice-marshal in the Zimbabwean air force. It is linked to a network of companies based in Mauritius, Dubai, the British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong. Biti said the results of the study did not surprise him. "I know the money [from the sale of Marange diamonds] is being stolen, but I don't have any proof of how it is being stolen," he said. Neither Anjin nor Mbada could be reached for comment.
Source: Times Live
Friday, March 4, 2011
Bulawayo Man Arrested Over Facebook Message
A Bulawayo man has become Zimbabwe's first "Facebook arrest" over an innocent comment he posted on the social networking site on the 13th February.
Vikas Mavhudzi of Old Magwegwe, is being charged with "subverting a constitutional government" after he posted a message on a Facebook page allegedly belonging to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. Mavhudzi's message simply read: "I am overwhelmed, I don't want to say Mr. or PM what happened in Egypt is sending shockwaves to dictators around the world. No weapon but unity of purpose worth emulating, hey."
The court was told that police arrested Mavhudzi on February 24th, after receiving an anonymous call that claimed he had sent a 'security threat' via his mobile phone. It was only after the arrest that police went through his phone and discovered the message in the sent folder.
Prosecutor Jeremiah Mutsindikwa accused Mavhudzi of "advocating or attempting to take-over government by unconstitutional means". And the state opposed bail when he appeared before a city magistrate on Thursday. Mavhudzi was remanded in custody till March 9th.
Protests against dictators in North Africa appear to have rattled Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF, as any discussion of the events there is now considered a crime in Zimbabwe. A group of activists who gathered to watch video footage of the protests were arrested on February 19 and are still in detention. Lawyers said suspected ringleaders have been brutally assaulted.
Meanwhile there are signs that the Mugabe regime intends to increase its ability to spy on innocent civilians. As we reported on SW Radio Africa this week, the government is allegedly moving at a 'very fast pace' with the construction of a secret electronic eavesdropping complex just outside Harare. A trusted source said that the Chinese, who are building the complex, have a system that enables most security agencies to 'spy at will' on emails, website visits, social networking sessions, and telephone calls made over the internet on a massive scale.
Source: AllAfrica
Vikas Mavhudzi of Old Magwegwe, is being charged with "subverting a constitutional government" after he posted a message on a Facebook page allegedly belonging to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. Mavhudzi's message simply read: "I am overwhelmed, I don't want to say Mr. or PM what happened in Egypt is sending shockwaves to dictators around the world. No weapon but unity of purpose worth emulating, hey."
The court was told that police arrested Mavhudzi on February 24th, after receiving an anonymous call that claimed he had sent a 'security threat' via his mobile phone. It was only after the arrest that police went through his phone and discovered the message in the sent folder.
Prosecutor Jeremiah Mutsindikwa accused Mavhudzi of "advocating or attempting to take-over government by unconstitutional means". And the state opposed bail when he appeared before a city magistrate on Thursday. Mavhudzi was remanded in custody till March 9th.
Protests against dictators in North Africa appear to have rattled Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF, as any discussion of the events there is now considered a crime in Zimbabwe. A group of activists who gathered to watch video footage of the protests were arrested on February 19 and are still in detention. Lawyers said suspected ringleaders have been brutally assaulted.
Meanwhile there are signs that the Mugabe regime intends to increase its ability to spy on innocent civilians. As we reported on SW Radio Africa this week, the government is allegedly moving at a 'very fast pace' with the construction of a secret electronic eavesdropping complex just outside Harare. A trusted source said that the Chinese, who are building the complex, have a system that enables most security agencies to 'spy at will' on emails, website visits, social networking sessions, and telephone calls made over the internet on a massive scale.
Source: AllAfrica
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Zimbabwe Attorney General slapped with US sanctions
The United States (US) on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe's Attorney General -- a top Robert Mugabe ally -- for his alleged role in undermining the crisis-ridden African nation's democracy. The Treasury Department said Johannes Tomana's "targeting of selected political opponents threatens the rule of law", and a fragile power-sharing deal between the country's rival powers.
The sanctions mean American citizens are prohibited from doing business with him and his US assets are frozen. But they also point to further tensions between long-time President Robert Mugabe and his political foe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. In 2008, the two leaders entered into an uneasy power-sharing deal, following months of political turmoil over the outcome of a violence-marred presidential run-off. The often testy relationship between the pair has been strained recently by tussles over government appointments, with Mugabe accused of routinely bypassing Tsvangirai when tapping officials for high office.
Last week, Mugabe stirred fresh conflict when he appointed ambassadors to the United Nations, the European Union and South Africa without consulting Tsvangirai, who heads the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Tsvangirai has asked the United Nations and the European Union not to recognise the ambassadors named solely by Mugabe. The United States stepped into the fray on Tuesday, questioning Tomana's appointment, in a clear shot at Mugabe. "Tomana's appointment was made without consultation with MDC leaders and against the spirit of Zimbabwe's Global Political Agreement signed on September 15, 2008," the Treasury Department said.
Tomana has been in the post since December 2008, shortly after the power-sharing deal was reached, but before the unity government was sworn in. The US government, along with European allies, have often criticised Mugabe for rights violations. According to leaked US diplomatic cables, the United Nations had even offered Mugabe a retirement package and safe haven overseas in 2000 if he agreed to stand down.
But 10 years on, Mugabe's exit looks as unlikely as ever. This month the 86-year-old was selected as his party's candidate for presidential elections expected next year, pitting him once more against long-time foe Tsvangirai. Mugabe, Africa's oldest leader, who has been in power since independence from Britain in 1980, was officially endorsed by Zanu-PF followers as their presidential candidate at the ruling party's annual conference this week. That could see Mugabe stay in office until well into his nineties if he wins a new ballot that for months he has insisted must take place next year because the deal with Tsvangirai -- current prime minister -- is not working.
But both men on Monday appeared to urge their supporters to shun violence ahead of the elections. "What we would want to get to our people is our voice and our command that there should be no violence, but that does not mean that everybody will listen to us," Mugabe said at a joint end-of-year news conference with Tsvangirai. "Yes, there are incidences of violence and we have witnessed it and we are committed as leaders to ensure that the next election is certainly not characterised by a culture of violence," said Tsvangirai. "That demon must be ostracised, it is a demon that no-one wants," he added.
Source: Mail & Guardian
The sanctions mean American citizens are prohibited from doing business with him and his US assets are frozen. But they also point to further tensions between long-time President Robert Mugabe and his political foe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. In 2008, the two leaders entered into an uneasy power-sharing deal, following months of political turmoil over the outcome of a violence-marred presidential run-off. The often testy relationship between the pair has been strained recently by tussles over government appointments, with Mugabe accused of routinely bypassing Tsvangirai when tapping officials for high office.
Last week, Mugabe stirred fresh conflict when he appointed ambassadors to the United Nations, the European Union and South Africa without consulting Tsvangirai, who heads the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Tsvangirai has asked the United Nations and the European Union not to recognise the ambassadors named solely by Mugabe. The United States stepped into the fray on Tuesday, questioning Tomana's appointment, in a clear shot at Mugabe. "Tomana's appointment was made without consultation with MDC leaders and against the spirit of Zimbabwe's Global Political Agreement signed on September 15, 2008," the Treasury Department said.
Tomana has been in the post since December 2008, shortly after the power-sharing deal was reached, but before the unity government was sworn in. The US government, along with European allies, have often criticised Mugabe for rights violations. According to leaked US diplomatic cables, the United Nations had even offered Mugabe a retirement package and safe haven overseas in 2000 if he agreed to stand down.
But 10 years on, Mugabe's exit looks as unlikely as ever. This month the 86-year-old was selected as his party's candidate for presidential elections expected next year, pitting him once more against long-time foe Tsvangirai. Mugabe, Africa's oldest leader, who has been in power since independence from Britain in 1980, was officially endorsed by Zanu-PF followers as their presidential candidate at the ruling party's annual conference this week. That could see Mugabe stay in office until well into his nineties if he wins a new ballot that for months he has insisted must take place next year because the deal with Tsvangirai -- current prime minister -- is not working.
But both men on Monday appeared to urge their supporters to shun violence ahead of the elections. "What we would want to get to our people is our voice and our command that there should be no violence, but that does not mean that everybody will listen to us," Mugabe said at a joint end-of-year news conference with Tsvangirai. "Yes, there are incidences of violence and we have witnessed it and we are committed as leaders to ensure that the next election is certainly not characterised by a culture of violence," said Tsvangirai. "That demon must be ostracised, it is a demon that no-one wants," he added.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, September 17, 2010
UK denies asylum for Mugabe 'thug'
A woman who admitted taking part in savage evictions of white farmers from their homes in Zimbabwe has lost her bid for asylum in the UK, a report said. According to the Daily Mail, High Court judge Mr Justice Ouseley threw out the widowed mother-of-two's appeal to remain in the UK after she confessed to beating up 10 people during two land invasions.
The story quotes the judge as saying that the state-sponsored mob violence, which saw white farmers' land seized and shared out among President Robert Mugabe's cronies, was akin to genocide. "We are satisfied that the two farm invasions were crimes against humanity," the judge said, likening the 39-year-old woman's role to a concentration camp guard who followed Nazi orders during the Holocaust.
According to the report, the woman, who cannot be named, came to Britain illegally in 2002 and did not claim asylum until six years later. Her bid for refugee status was rejected on the grounds that her own violent actions in Zimbabwe disqualified her from humanitarian protection in the UK. She reportedly admitted to being part of a gang of thugs from Mugabe's Zanu-PF party who invaded two white-owned farms intent on causing maximum terror and driving away black workers and said that on one occasion, she beat a woman so badly she thought she would die.
However, the report says she insisted she had taken part in the raids under duress to prove her loyalty to Mugabe's regime and she had never intended to kill anyone. The Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber accepted that the woman was a "lesser participant" in the bloodshed and others were even more brutal. However, she took "a voluntary, even if reluctant" part. Even though not a ringleader, the same could be said of concentration camp guards who "make a substantial contribution to genocide" despite their peripheral role, said the judge.
Source: IoL
The story quotes the judge as saying that the state-sponsored mob violence, which saw white farmers' land seized and shared out among President Robert Mugabe's cronies, was akin to genocide. "We are satisfied that the two farm invasions were crimes against humanity," the judge said, likening the 39-year-old woman's role to a concentration camp guard who followed Nazi orders during the Holocaust.
According to the report, the woman, who cannot be named, came to Britain illegally in 2002 and did not claim asylum until six years later. Her bid for refugee status was rejected on the grounds that her own violent actions in Zimbabwe disqualified her from humanitarian protection in the UK. She reportedly admitted to being part of a gang of thugs from Mugabe's Zanu-PF party who invaded two white-owned farms intent on causing maximum terror and driving away black workers and said that on one occasion, she beat a woman so badly she thought she would die.
However, the report says she insisted she had taken part in the raids under duress to prove her loyalty to Mugabe's regime and she had never intended to kill anyone. The Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber accepted that the woman was a "lesser participant" in the bloodshed and others were even more brutal. However, she took "a voluntary, even if reluctant" part. Even though not a ringleader, the same could be said of concentration camp guards who "make a substantial contribution to genocide" despite their peripheral role, said the judge.
Source: IoL
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Afriforum drops court case over ANCYL military training
AfriForum has withdrawn an urgent court application against Defence and Military Veterans Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, after she decided not to give the ANC Youth League and Young Communists’ League military training. It had applied for an the urgent interdict to review Sisulu’s decision to send the youth organisations’ leaders on a two week special programme at Saldanha Navy Base, in the Western Cape. This was to enable the youth to experience the curriculum and activities of national service. “Serious concerns were raised at the time as a result of parallels drawn with [Zimbabwe President] Robert Mugabe’s militia training for Zanu-PF youths in Zimbabwe,” AfriForum’s legal representative Willie Spies said in a statement on Sunday.
He said it was a pity that AfriForum had to make a court application to get answers from the minister. “This would not have been necessary if the minister showed the basic courtesy of responding to letters addressed to her.” Spies said Sisulu had made her latest declaration under oath. “If it appears at any stage that the minister wants to continue with her initial plans, AfriForum will re-enroll the urgent application immediately.”
AfriForum would apply this week for a new court date to argue the issue of costs, he said. On Friday, Sisulu’s spokesman Ndivhuwo Mbaya said a national service two week special programme designed for the leadership of all youth organisations would continue as soon as all logistics and consultation processes had been concluded.
Source: Times Live
He said it was a pity that AfriForum had to make a court application to get answers from the minister. “This would not have been necessary if the minister showed the basic courtesy of responding to letters addressed to her.” Spies said Sisulu had made her latest declaration under oath. “If it appears at any stage that the minister wants to continue with her initial plans, AfriForum will re-enroll the urgent application immediately.”
AfriForum would apply this week for a new court date to argue the issue of costs, he said. On Friday, Sisulu’s spokesman Ndivhuwo Mbaya said a national service two week special programme designed for the leadership of all youth organisations would continue as soon as all logistics and consultation processes had been concluded.
Source: Times Live
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
'Don't be too hard on Selebi'
People shouldn’t be too hard on Jackie Selebi. He is actually just a metaphor of what has become of the ANC.
Just as tragic as it is that a man with such a proud history in the struggle for freedom and democracy became a cheap braggart, a charlatan and a crook, so is it heart-breaking that the movement of Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela has become a party dominated by greed, a lust for personal power, corruption and petty factionalism. Cynics, Afro-pessimists and right wingers say this was to be expected: most of the other liberation movements on our continent went the same way, Zanu-PF and the MPLA of Angola being prime examples.
I did not expect it. I am shocked every day at new manifestations of the rot in our ruling party. Yes, there were always elements in the ANC during the exile years whom one wouldn’t exactly call democrats and human rights activists. They fought for power, not democracy. But the decent men and women, people who really cared about human dignity and freedom, always dominated the ANC. Most of the best sons and daughters of our country during the last half century were products of the ANC.
This was why I thought our liberation movement would be different. I was wrong. Those decent people, those progressive leaders with whom I associated myself politically for many years, have disappeared into the quicksands of power and greed. The party is now dominated by cheap, lying populists who enrich themselves at the expense of the poor; by opportunists pushing their own interests; by Stalinists and reactionaries. The harder these types try to drive our country towards a bankrupt dictatorship, the more credibility some of the conspiracy theories are getting. Such as: the reason why the ANC is manipulating the judiciary and the National Prosecuting Authority and why it is now pushing two draconian measures to severely limit press freedom, is to make it possible for them to steal more from the people and to hide their own scandals.
Even the theory that the ANC is deliberately sabotaging land reform and redistribution is gaining credibility: they want to pull a Robert Mugabe when it’s popularity among the masses is waning; blame the whites as the common enemy and use land as an emotive issue to unite blacks behind them. I have no doubt in my mind that those ANC leaders who are pushing the proposals for a statutory media tribunal do not believe for one moment that it would improve our newspapers one iota. They know, as we should all know, that it’s only result will be an end to the free flow of information to the voters.
I have been waiting in vain for my comrades of yesteryear to stand up and stop this assault on our democracy. Evil happens when good men remain silent. The vast majority of South Africans have proved that they deserve better than the present leadership of the ANC. But when will this majority start realising that it is their democratic right to show this dangerous clique the red card?
Source: News 24: Max du Preez
Just as tragic as it is that a man with such a proud history in the struggle for freedom and democracy became a cheap braggart, a charlatan and a crook, so is it heart-breaking that the movement of Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela has become a party dominated by greed, a lust for personal power, corruption and petty factionalism. Cynics, Afro-pessimists and right wingers say this was to be expected: most of the other liberation movements on our continent went the same way, Zanu-PF and the MPLA of Angola being prime examples.
I did not expect it. I am shocked every day at new manifestations of the rot in our ruling party. Yes, there were always elements in the ANC during the exile years whom one wouldn’t exactly call democrats and human rights activists. They fought for power, not democracy. But the decent men and women, people who really cared about human dignity and freedom, always dominated the ANC. Most of the best sons and daughters of our country during the last half century were products of the ANC.
This was why I thought our liberation movement would be different. I was wrong. Those decent people, those progressive leaders with whom I associated myself politically for many years, have disappeared into the quicksands of power and greed. The party is now dominated by cheap, lying populists who enrich themselves at the expense of the poor; by opportunists pushing their own interests; by Stalinists and reactionaries. The harder these types try to drive our country towards a bankrupt dictatorship, the more credibility some of the conspiracy theories are getting. Such as: the reason why the ANC is manipulating the judiciary and the National Prosecuting Authority and why it is now pushing two draconian measures to severely limit press freedom, is to make it possible for them to steal more from the people and to hide their own scandals.
Even the theory that the ANC is deliberately sabotaging land reform and redistribution is gaining credibility: they want to pull a Robert Mugabe when it’s popularity among the masses is waning; blame the whites as the common enemy and use land as an emotive issue to unite blacks behind them. I have no doubt in my mind that those ANC leaders who are pushing the proposals for a statutory media tribunal do not believe for one moment that it would improve our newspapers one iota. They know, as we should all know, that it’s only result will be an end to the free flow of information to the voters.
I have been waiting in vain for my comrades of yesteryear to stand up and stop this assault on our democracy. Evil happens when good men remain silent. The vast majority of South Africans have proved that they deserve better than the present leadership of the ANC. But when will this majority start realising that it is their democratic right to show this dangerous clique the red card?
Source: News 24: Max du Preez
Monday, May 31, 2010
Southern Africa: The Liberation Struggle Continues
Fifty years on from the beginnings of liberation in Africa, John Saul finds there is still much work to be done, especially in southern Africa where the final triumph over colonial and racial domination occurred.
In each of the the five sites of the overt struggle against domination – Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa – there are clear signs of recolonization. This time by capital. What we have seen is the virtual recolonization of southern Africa by capital. This is something new. It is not easy to disaggregate this "capital" into national capitals and see it as being the instrument of various nationally-based imperialisms and their several colonialisms.
Now, it is an "Empire of Capital" that is currently recolonizing Africa. Of course, this has been complicated by the still independent role that national states play in the imperial equation. Moreover, it is the case that such a "recolonization" has been accomplished with the overt connivance of indigenous leaders/elites – those who have inherited power with the demise of "white rule" but who, in doing so, have manifested much greater commitment to the interests of their own privileged class-in-creation, as opposed to those of the mass of their own people.
In short, it is not a happy world for the vast mass of ordinary southern African citizens – despite the freedom that they had seemed once to have won.
Some facts for South Africa may provide an indication of such a reality, one that has also scarred each of the five countries of the region that once became key sites of overt liberation struggle: Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. Indeed, the several country case-studies that comprise the body of this edition of AfricaFiles' Ezine will, cumulatively, give a very clear sense of this reality.
In Zimbabwe, in the brutal thrall of Mugabe and ZANU-PF has witnessed an even greater deterioration of national circumstances. ZANU-PF stewardship of the economy has been an unmitigated disaster, while its politics, through years of overt and enormously costly dictatorial practices, have produced a situation that is proving enormously difficult both to displace and to move beyond.
In South Africa, the economic gap between black and white has indeed narrowed statistically – framed by the fact that some blacks have indeed got very much richer (from their own upward mobility as junior partners to recolonization and from the fresh spoils of victory that this has offered them). Yet the gap between rich and poor is actually wider than ever it was – and it is growing.
A long-time and firmly loyal ANC cadre (Ben Turok) has himself published a book entitled The Evolution of ANC Economic Policy. In the book, Turok acknowledges both the contribution of ANC policies to growing inequality in South Africa, while reaching "the irresistible conclusion that the ANC government has lost a great deal of its earlier focus on the fundamental transformation of the inherited social system".
Source: AfricaFiles
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Time to move away from the Malema monologue to dialogue on our future
A hip-hop star, allegedly high on cocaine ploughs into a group of schoolchildren in Soweto, killing 4 of them. The National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Menzi Simelane, admits to intervening in order to ensure that the singer gets bail. This is so despite the fact that the senior prosecutor assigned to the case, opposes bail. A senior political figure visits the singer in prison and provides him with a take-out meal.
This story of hip-hop singer, Jub-Jub neatly reflects so much of what is wrong in our society; life is cheap and if you are poor it is even cheaper and there are no guarantees that the law will provide the requisite protection from excess. Those who are politically connected, it seems, stand a greater chance of escaping the consequences of their actions. No presidential address made the news when these children were killed. One of the most dangerous appointments made by President Zuma must surely be that of Menzi Simelane? During the Ginwala commission of enquiry into the fitness of Vusi Pikoli (then NDPP) to hold office, Simelane, then Director-General of Justice, was found to have interfered when he deemed it proper to pen a letter to Vusi Pikoli in order to stop the investigation into Jackie Selebi. Ginwala found this conduct to be ‘reckless' and Simelane's evidence ‘contradictory'. That Simelane is now in probably one of the most powerful positions in the country and making decisions on prosecutions should concern all who are committed to the rule of law. His ‘redeployment' of senior members of the prosecuting service seems less linked to bolstering the lower courts than to weakening the resolve of senior prosecutors. His admission to intervening in the Jub Jub case and opposition to a provisional preservation order against Fana Hlongwane, who was alleged to have received bribes associated with the arms deal both indicate that Simelane is continuing his ‘reckless' actions to suit the political winds. Thus far Simelane has done little to deserve our trust. In fact, in the Jub Jub case he has acted against the interests of children and the community through his intervention.
This weekend when Eugene Terreblanche is murdered on his farm in Ventersdorp, the President, in an address on national television appeals for calm and says that ‘the institutions of state' must be allowed to do their work. They should, but then equally, those in power should not use political influence to undermine the institutions of state, as we have seen repeatedly in recent times. For, during times of crisis and when political rhetoric becomes inflamed, all we can do is rely on the rules of the game. What this means, simply, is that when a court hands down a decision regarding hate speech, the state should be firm in its resolve to ensure that inflammatory language does not lace our political discourse. It also means that the President, as head of state must unequivocally show leadership on such matters and on questions of nation-building. It means that the President must, on behalf of all of us, say unequivocally, that the nightmarish visions of an unelected upstart like Julius Malema, dressed in ZANU-PF garb does not represent who and what we are.
Whatever the motive behind the murder, the Terreblanche incident shows that life is cheap; both white life and black life. It is a sad indictment of our society and the depravity which is reflected in these acts. Black people in Ventersdorp now live in fear of reprisals from right-wingers. White farmers continuously live in fear of being murdered and attacked on their farm homes. Whatever the politics of Terreblanche, his murder was a brutal act and must be condemned. It should also provide pause for thought at the hundreds of farmers murdered annually and the many killed in townships and suburbs across our country in random criminal acts. If anything, the state has failed dismally to keep us all safe. We don't need statistics to prove the lawlessness. It is in the suburbs behind electric fences, in the townships amongst mothers afraid to allow children to play outside for fear of being raped or attacked.
We live in uncertain times. Our political leadership has never been as unconvincing since the dawn of democracy. Never before has cross-racial solidarity to advance the gains of 1994 been so crucial. Never before have we needed to build social movements, a powerful media and community organizations to advance the rights of the Constitution, more than now. It is time. It is time for ordinary citizens, business, the academy and communities to take a stand for a decent society with principled leadership. It is time for us to move away from the ‘Malema monologue' and into a dialogue between the millions of peace-loving South Africans who want to see the beloved country prosper.
Source: Polity: INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH AFRICA: Judith February
This story of hip-hop singer, Jub-Jub neatly reflects so much of what is wrong in our society; life is cheap and if you are poor it is even cheaper and there are no guarantees that the law will provide the requisite protection from excess. Those who are politically connected, it seems, stand a greater chance of escaping the consequences of their actions. No presidential address made the news when these children were killed. One of the most dangerous appointments made by President Zuma must surely be that of Menzi Simelane? During the Ginwala commission of enquiry into the fitness of Vusi Pikoli (then NDPP) to hold office, Simelane, then Director-General of Justice, was found to have interfered when he deemed it proper to pen a letter to Vusi Pikoli in order to stop the investigation into Jackie Selebi. Ginwala found this conduct to be ‘reckless' and Simelane's evidence ‘contradictory'. That Simelane is now in probably one of the most powerful positions in the country and making decisions on prosecutions should concern all who are committed to the rule of law. His ‘redeployment' of senior members of the prosecuting service seems less linked to bolstering the lower courts than to weakening the resolve of senior prosecutors. His admission to intervening in the Jub Jub case and opposition to a provisional preservation order against Fana Hlongwane, who was alleged to have received bribes associated with the arms deal both indicate that Simelane is continuing his ‘reckless' actions to suit the political winds. Thus far Simelane has done little to deserve our trust. In fact, in the Jub Jub case he has acted against the interests of children and the community through his intervention.
This weekend when Eugene Terreblanche is murdered on his farm in Ventersdorp, the President, in an address on national television appeals for calm and says that ‘the institutions of state' must be allowed to do their work. They should, but then equally, those in power should not use political influence to undermine the institutions of state, as we have seen repeatedly in recent times. For, during times of crisis and when political rhetoric becomes inflamed, all we can do is rely on the rules of the game. What this means, simply, is that when a court hands down a decision regarding hate speech, the state should be firm in its resolve to ensure that inflammatory language does not lace our political discourse. It also means that the President, as head of state must unequivocally show leadership on such matters and on questions of nation-building. It means that the President must, on behalf of all of us, say unequivocally, that the nightmarish visions of an unelected upstart like Julius Malema, dressed in ZANU-PF garb does not represent who and what we are.
Whatever the motive behind the murder, the Terreblanche incident shows that life is cheap; both white life and black life. It is a sad indictment of our society and the depravity which is reflected in these acts. Black people in Ventersdorp now live in fear of reprisals from right-wingers. White farmers continuously live in fear of being murdered and attacked on their farm homes. Whatever the politics of Terreblanche, his murder was a brutal act and must be condemned. It should also provide pause for thought at the hundreds of farmers murdered annually and the many killed in townships and suburbs across our country in random criminal acts. If anything, the state has failed dismally to keep us all safe. We don't need statistics to prove the lawlessness. It is in the suburbs behind electric fences, in the townships amongst mothers afraid to allow children to play outside for fear of being raped or attacked.
We live in uncertain times. Our political leadership has never been as unconvincing since the dawn of democracy. Never before has cross-racial solidarity to advance the gains of 1994 been so crucial. Never before have we needed to build social movements, a powerful media and community organizations to advance the rights of the Constitution, more than now. It is time. It is time for ordinary citizens, business, the academy and communities to take a stand for a decent society with principled leadership. It is time for us to move away from the ‘Malema monologue' and into a dialogue between the millions of peace-loving South Africans who want to see the beloved country prosper.
Source: Polity: INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH AFRICA: Judith February
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Zim police crack-down on photo exhibition
Zimbabwe police on Tuesday seized all the photographs from an exhibition depicting repression under President Robert Mugabe, and arrested the chief of the human rights body that organised the show, officials confirmed. The incident is another instance of the harassment of human rights groups by Mugabe's police, which has continued despite the formation of a power-sharing government between the 86-year-old autocrat and his former opponent, pro-democracy leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is now prime minister.
Tsvangirai was due to open the exhibition Wednesday at the capital's well-known, private Delta Gallery of 62 framed photographs, which showed Mugabe's brutal crackdown on Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). A spokesperson for Tsvangirai's office said the prime minister was "adamant that the exhibition will go ahead", and that he would be opening it as scheduled. "What these people [Mugabe's Zanu-PF party] don't understand is that by showing these photographs you are not reopening wounds, you are trying to heal wounds," Tsvangirai said.
The images showed victims of violence, Tsvangirai with head injuries from an assault, police breaking up peace demonstrations, as well as Mugabe praying, and ended with pictures of members of the coalition government, said Cynthia Manjoro, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Human Rights Organization (Zimrights) that was holding the exhibition. "The aim was to make people look at where we have been, and to try to make sure we don't go there again," she said. "It is about national healing, and that we are begging for a truth and reconciliation commission."
Manjoro said police first arrived and took photographs of all the pictures. Later about 20 officers, including riot police, removed the pictures from the walls and dumped them in a police pick-up truck. Zimrights director Okay Machisa tried to intervene and was arrested. Lawyers later said Machisa had been released, but it was not clear what, if any, charges had been pressed against him. Manjoro said police gave no reason for removing the pictures.
In the last 10 years of harassment since Tsvangirai's MDC emerged as the first real threat to Mugabe's nearly 30 years in power, police have regularly closed down theatres featuring critical and satirical drama, arresting actors, producers and audiences, and shut down music concerts with a political theme. Observers say it is the first time they have interfered with an art exhibition. The show coincided with a swell of demands for acknowledgement, particularly by Mugabe's side of the coalition government, of a decade of violent intimidation, with murders, rapes, torture, assault, arson, looting and destruction of homes on a vast scale, which human rights organizations claim have been committed almost entirely by Mugabe's security forces and party vigilantes.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Tsvangirai was due to open the exhibition Wednesday at the capital's well-known, private Delta Gallery of 62 framed photographs, which showed Mugabe's brutal crackdown on Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). A spokesperson for Tsvangirai's office said the prime minister was "adamant that the exhibition will go ahead", and that he would be opening it as scheduled. "What these people [Mugabe's Zanu-PF party] don't understand is that by showing these photographs you are not reopening wounds, you are trying to heal wounds," Tsvangirai said.
The images showed victims of violence, Tsvangirai with head injuries from an assault, police breaking up peace demonstrations, as well as Mugabe praying, and ended with pictures of members of the coalition government, said Cynthia Manjoro, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Human Rights Organization (Zimrights) that was holding the exhibition. "The aim was to make people look at where we have been, and to try to make sure we don't go there again," she said. "It is about national healing, and that we are begging for a truth and reconciliation commission."
Manjoro said police first arrived and took photographs of all the pictures. Later about 20 officers, including riot police, removed the pictures from the walls and dumped them in a police pick-up truck. Zimrights director Okay Machisa tried to intervene and was arrested. Lawyers later said Machisa had been released, but it was not clear what, if any, charges had been pressed against him. Manjoro said police gave no reason for removing the pictures.
In the last 10 years of harassment since Tsvangirai's MDC emerged as the first real threat to Mugabe's nearly 30 years in power, police have regularly closed down theatres featuring critical and satirical drama, arresting actors, producers and audiences, and shut down music concerts with a political theme. Observers say it is the first time they have interfered with an art exhibition. The show coincided with a swell of demands for acknowledgement, particularly by Mugabe's side of the coalition government, of a decade of violent intimidation, with murders, rapes, torture, assault, arson, looting and destruction of homes on a vast scale, which human rights organizations claim have been committed almost entirely by Mugabe's security forces and party vigilantes.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, February 12, 2010
Zimbabwe: One Year On, Reform a Failure
Zimbabwe's power-sharing government has made no real progress in implementing political reforms and ending human rights abuses after a year in office, Human Rights Watch said today. The government has demonstrated little political will or capacity to enact meaningful changes to improve the lives of Zimbabweans. Human Rights Watch urged the government to take immediate steps to end abuses and create the necessary constitutional and electoral framework to ensure free, fair, and credible elections, as envisaged in the Global Political Agreement, which established the power-sharing government. "The transitional power-sharing government is a sham," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "From a human rights perspective, nothing has changed for the better. Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF are still fully in control."
The Global Political Agreement, which took effect on February 11, 2009, was approved in September 2008 by the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), the longtime ruling party led by Mugabe and by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the former opposition. It was designed to resolve Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis and chart a new political direction for the country. Recent research by Human Rights Watch in Zimbabwe suggests that there has been no meaningful political transition, and that ZANU-PF continues to engage in political violence against perceived opponents. Groups of war veterans and ZANU-PF youth, who have been deployed in the past to target the opposition, remain intact. ZANU-PF still uses elements in the security forces as instruments of repression. Military-led violent invasions of commercial farms continue.
In the first week of February 2010, police disrupted MDC-organized constitutional reform meetings, beat up participants, and arbitrarily arrested 43 people in Binga, 48 in Masvingo, and 52 in Mt. Darwin. Although the Global Political Agreement recognized the importance of the rights to freedom of expression and communication, the media in Zimbabwe remain muzzled. There are no private daily newspapers or privately owned radio stations. Public information remains under the firm control of ZANU-PF. Not one license for independent media outlets has been issued since the power-sharing government was formed. A Bulawayo-based community radio initiative, Radio Dialogue, released a press statement on February 4 saying that it had the equipment and staff necessary to start broadcasting immediately, but that the government had failed to provide a broadcasting license.
Journalists in Zimbabwe face intimidation and arrest for appearing to oppose ZANU-PF. On January 16, a freelance journalist, Stanley Kwenda, fled to South Africa, saying he had received death threats from a senior police officer. Two days later, another freelance journalist, Andrison Manyere, was arrested while filming a public demonstration organized by Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA). Police detained him for over six hours before releasing him without charge. ZANU-PF continues to use its control of state-owned print and electronic media to manipulate public opinion in its favor while using hate speech and other offensive language against MDC. Without an open media environment, Zimbabweans will be unable to participate fully in the ongoing constitutional reform process or in future elections, Human Rights Watch said.
In these and other areas, ZANU-PF has resisted complying with the rule of law. It even declared at its December 2009 party congress that it would not allow security forces to be subjected to reform. The security sector is deeply embedded in the political affairs of the country. Diamond revenue, particularly from the Marange diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe, is providing a parallel source of revenue for ZANU-PF and its repressive machinery, Human Rights Watch said. Companies with connections to ZANU-PF are mining diamonds in Marange, where military control and abuses continue. Human Rights Watch called on the government to allow newspapers and electronic media to operate freely and to carry out other confidence-building reforms. It should repeal all repressive legislation such as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), which severely limits rights to demonstrate and criminalizes "insulting" the president of Zimbabwe and publishing "inaccurate" information. These provisions have been used to harass, arrest, and prosecute journalists. Furthermore, the police have loosely interpreted certain provisions of the POSA to justify arbitrary arrests. Even on issues where there is consensus between ZANU-PF and MDC, such as the appointment of new provincial governors, implementation has been stalled, and the parties continue to bicker about the delay. To divert scrutiny of the continuing political instability and the failure to carry out the agreement, parties in the power-sharing government instead overemphasize the significance of efforts made to stabilize the economy, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch called for parties to the government to begin preparations for holding internationally supervised free, fair, and credible elections that will lead to a legitimate and democratic government with the political will to bring about change. "The power-sharing government experiment is not working," Gagnon said. "Without political stability and rights reforms, any progress on economic recovery won't last."
Source: Human Rights Watch
The Global Political Agreement, which took effect on February 11, 2009, was approved in September 2008 by the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), the longtime ruling party led by Mugabe and by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the former opposition. It was designed to resolve Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis and chart a new political direction for the country. Recent research by Human Rights Watch in Zimbabwe suggests that there has been no meaningful political transition, and that ZANU-PF continues to engage in political violence against perceived opponents. Groups of war veterans and ZANU-PF youth, who have been deployed in the past to target the opposition, remain intact. ZANU-PF still uses elements in the security forces as instruments of repression. Military-led violent invasions of commercial farms continue.
In the first week of February 2010, police disrupted MDC-organized constitutional reform meetings, beat up participants, and arbitrarily arrested 43 people in Binga, 48 in Masvingo, and 52 in Mt. Darwin. Although the Global Political Agreement recognized the importance of the rights to freedom of expression and communication, the media in Zimbabwe remain muzzled. There are no private daily newspapers or privately owned radio stations. Public information remains under the firm control of ZANU-PF. Not one license for independent media outlets has been issued since the power-sharing government was formed. A Bulawayo-based community radio initiative, Radio Dialogue, released a press statement on February 4 saying that it had the equipment and staff necessary to start broadcasting immediately, but that the government had failed to provide a broadcasting license.
Journalists in Zimbabwe face intimidation and arrest for appearing to oppose ZANU-PF. On January 16, a freelance journalist, Stanley Kwenda, fled to South Africa, saying he had received death threats from a senior police officer. Two days later, another freelance journalist, Andrison Manyere, was arrested while filming a public demonstration organized by Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA). Police detained him for over six hours before releasing him without charge. ZANU-PF continues to use its control of state-owned print and electronic media to manipulate public opinion in its favor while using hate speech and other offensive language against MDC. Without an open media environment, Zimbabweans will be unable to participate fully in the ongoing constitutional reform process or in future elections, Human Rights Watch said.
In these and other areas, ZANU-PF has resisted complying with the rule of law. It even declared at its December 2009 party congress that it would not allow security forces to be subjected to reform. The security sector is deeply embedded in the political affairs of the country. Diamond revenue, particularly from the Marange diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe, is providing a parallel source of revenue for ZANU-PF and its repressive machinery, Human Rights Watch said. Companies with connections to ZANU-PF are mining diamonds in Marange, where military control and abuses continue. Human Rights Watch called on the government to allow newspapers and electronic media to operate freely and to carry out other confidence-building reforms. It should repeal all repressive legislation such as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), which severely limits rights to demonstrate and criminalizes "insulting" the president of Zimbabwe and publishing "inaccurate" information. These provisions have been used to harass, arrest, and prosecute journalists. Furthermore, the police have loosely interpreted certain provisions of the POSA to justify arbitrary arrests. Even on issues where there is consensus between ZANU-PF and MDC, such as the appointment of new provincial governors, implementation has been stalled, and the parties continue to bicker about the delay. To divert scrutiny of the continuing political instability and the failure to carry out the agreement, parties in the power-sharing government instead overemphasize the significance of efforts made to stabilize the economy, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch called for parties to the government to begin preparations for holding internationally supervised free, fair, and credible elections that will lead to a legitimate and democratic government with the political will to bring about change. "The power-sharing government experiment is not working," Gagnon said. "Without political stability and rights reforms, any progress on economic recovery won't last."
Source: Human Rights Watch
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Bennett's high-profile terrorism trial resumes in Zim
The trial of Zimbabwe deputy agriculture minister-designate Roy Bennett, who is facing charges of illegal possession of weapons for purposes of terrorism, banditry and insurgency, resumed on Wednesday with the prosecution's key witness due to testify.
Bennett, a senior official of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has pleaded not guilty in the high court in Harare. The MDC says the case against Bennett is politically motivated and aimed at keeping him out of the unity government it formed with President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party last February.
The charge of terrorism carries a death penalty in Zimbabwe, while the other charges of inciting terrorism, banditry and insurgency against Bennett carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Justice Chinembiri Bhunu adjourned the trial in November after Mutare-based arms dealer Peter Hitschmann, the prosecution's star witness, failed to show up in court. The prosecution alleges Hitschmann was paid by Bennett to buy weapons to assassinate government officials. Police say Hitschmann implicated Bennett in the procurement of the arms, but Bennett's lawyers argue that the arms dealer had been tortured into making that submission. Hitschmann has submitted an affidavit saying he does not want to testify against Bennett. His lawyer, Mordecai Mahlangu, was arrested last year in connection with the matter and a judge is expected to rule on the matter this week. Hitschmann was acquitted of terrorism charges in 2006 but served jail time for possessing dangerous weapons -- including six sub-machine guns and two machine guns -- which have been produced in Bennett's trial as part of the state's exhibits. The MDC claims the Attorney General's office is frustrating efforts to swear in Bennett, along with other senior MDC officials chosen for the unity government. Bennett was arrested on the day he was due to be sworn in last February.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Bennett, a senior official of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has pleaded not guilty in the high court in Harare. The MDC says the case against Bennett is politically motivated and aimed at keeping him out of the unity government it formed with President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party last February.
The charge of terrorism carries a death penalty in Zimbabwe, while the other charges of inciting terrorism, banditry and insurgency against Bennett carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Justice Chinembiri Bhunu adjourned the trial in November after Mutare-based arms dealer Peter Hitschmann, the prosecution's star witness, failed to show up in court. The prosecution alleges Hitschmann was paid by Bennett to buy weapons to assassinate government officials. Police say Hitschmann implicated Bennett in the procurement of the arms, but Bennett's lawyers argue that the arms dealer had been tortured into making that submission. Hitschmann has submitted an affidavit saying he does not want to testify against Bennett. His lawyer, Mordecai Mahlangu, was arrested last year in connection with the matter and a judge is expected to rule on the matter this week. Hitschmann was acquitted of terrorism charges in 2006 but served jail time for possessing dangerous weapons -- including six sub-machine guns and two machine guns -- which have been produced in Bennett's trial as part of the state's exhibits. The MDC claims the Attorney General's office is frustrating efforts to swear in Bennett, along with other senior MDC officials chosen for the unity government. Bennett was arrested on the day he was due to be sworn in last February.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Southern Africa: Quiet Diplomacy Replaced with a More Direct Approach
"Quiet diplomacy", the mantra used by former South African president Thabo Mbeki in his dealings with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, appears to have fallen by the wayside and been replaced with a more no-nonsense approach. The two-day visit on 27 and 28 August by South African President Jacob Zuma to the country's troubled northern neighbour was characterized by a marked difference in style. Mbeki, appointed as mediator by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to resolve Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis, was seen by analysts as indulging Mugabe; Zuma was more direct.
After opening Zimbabwe's 99th agricultural show in the capital, Harare, Zuma dismissed statements ahead of his visit by Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, that his presence was only ceremonial. Mbeki was not part of the visit. "I visited Zimbabwe in my capacity as President of South Africa, as well as in my capacity as Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community, both of which are guarantors of the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA)," he said.
The agreement was signed in September 2008 by Mugabe's ZANU-PF, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and now Prime Minister, and Arthur Mutambara, leader of an MDC faction, which facilitated the formation of a unity government in February 2009. "I decided to use the opportunity of opening the Harare Agricultural Show to meet the esteemed leaders of political parties to ascertain progress with regards to the implementation of the Global Political Agreement," Zuma said. He held closed-door discussions with Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
The progress of the unity government has been tortured. ZANU-PF has stalled on implementing some aspects of the GPA, among them the appointment without consultation of the reserve bank governor and the attorney general, and Mugabe's refusal to swear in provincial governors, or a white former commercial farmer, Roy Bennett, as deputy minister of agriculture. "For this [economic recovery] to happen, it is absolutely necessary that the Global Political Agreement be fully implemented without delay," Zuma said.
ZANU-PF has complained that the MDC has not done enough to convince Western countries to lift sanctions imposed mainly against the ZANU-PF elite. The US and Britain, the former colonial power, have said sanctions would be lifted once there was respect for human rights and democracy. "We are aware that some economic development partners and donor countries have put some benchmarks to be met before they can extend assistance, and currently only offer humanitarian assistance," Zuma said in his speech at the agricultural show. "The achievement of an effective recovery is also dependent on the removal of sanctions and other measures that hold back economic development."
A senior ZANU-PF official, who declined to be identified, told IRIN: "We are a party with a long history of negotiating and we have certainly worn down the MDC - of course, we cannot negotiate ourselves out of power." However, a senior MDC official, who declined to be identified, told IRIN: "Zuma did get some concessions from Mugabe that certain provisions of the coalition deal would have been implemented by the time the [SADC] summit is held. Very soon there will be some developments."
A two-day SADC summit begins on 7 September in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. "This will provide an opportunity to review progress in the implementation of the agreement, and for the countries of Southern Africa to reaffirm their commitment to assisting Zimbabwe," Zuma said. Zimbabwe to work together to remove any remaining obstacles to the implementation of the agreement. The parties are agreed on the need to speed up implementation and to find lasting solutions to the current points of disagreements. The important factor is that there was commitment among all parties, which make the movement forward possible," he pointed out.
Human Rights Watch, a global watchdog, noted in a report released on 31 August, False Dawn: The Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Government's Failure to Deliver Human Rights Improvements, "There is mounting evidence that the new government is failing or unwilling to end serious human rights violations, restore the rule of law, institute fundamental rights reforms, and chart a new political direction for the country." The report also noted that "ZANU-PF retains control of all senior ministries, including the Ministries of Defence, Justice, State Security, and Foreign Affairs; and it co-chairs Home Affairs. The party therefore wields significantly more power than the MDC in the government, and is unwilling to institute human rights and governance reforms." Georgette Gagnon, Africa director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement: "The region's leaders [at the SADC summit] need to press Zimbabwe openly and publicly for human rights reforms to prevent the country from backsliding into state-sponsored violence and chaos."
Source: All Africa
After opening Zimbabwe's 99th agricultural show in the capital, Harare, Zuma dismissed statements ahead of his visit by Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, that his presence was only ceremonial. Mbeki was not part of the visit. "I visited Zimbabwe in my capacity as President of South Africa, as well as in my capacity as Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community, both of which are guarantors of the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA)," he said.
The agreement was signed in September 2008 by Mugabe's ZANU-PF, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and now Prime Minister, and Arthur Mutambara, leader of an MDC faction, which facilitated the formation of a unity government in February 2009. "I decided to use the opportunity of opening the Harare Agricultural Show to meet the esteemed leaders of political parties to ascertain progress with regards to the implementation of the Global Political Agreement," Zuma said. He held closed-door discussions with Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
The progress of the unity government has been tortured. ZANU-PF has stalled on implementing some aspects of the GPA, among them the appointment without consultation of the reserve bank governor and the attorney general, and Mugabe's refusal to swear in provincial governors, or a white former commercial farmer, Roy Bennett, as deputy minister of agriculture. "For this [economic recovery] to happen, it is absolutely necessary that the Global Political Agreement be fully implemented without delay," Zuma said.
ZANU-PF has complained that the MDC has not done enough to convince Western countries to lift sanctions imposed mainly against the ZANU-PF elite. The US and Britain, the former colonial power, have said sanctions would be lifted once there was respect for human rights and democracy. "We are aware that some economic development partners and donor countries have put some benchmarks to be met before they can extend assistance, and currently only offer humanitarian assistance," Zuma said in his speech at the agricultural show. "The achievement of an effective recovery is also dependent on the removal of sanctions and other measures that hold back economic development."
A senior ZANU-PF official, who declined to be identified, told IRIN: "We are a party with a long history of negotiating and we have certainly worn down the MDC - of course, we cannot negotiate ourselves out of power." However, a senior MDC official, who declined to be identified, told IRIN: "Zuma did get some concessions from Mugabe that certain provisions of the coalition deal would have been implemented by the time the [SADC] summit is held. Very soon there will be some developments."
A two-day SADC summit begins on 7 September in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. "This will provide an opportunity to review progress in the implementation of the agreement, and for the countries of Southern Africa to reaffirm their commitment to assisting Zimbabwe," Zuma said. Zimbabwe to work together to remove any remaining obstacles to the implementation of the agreement. The parties are agreed on the need to speed up implementation and to find lasting solutions to the current points of disagreements. The important factor is that there was commitment among all parties, which make the movement forward possible," he pointed out.
Human Rights Watch, a global watchdog, noted in a report released on 31 August, False Dawn: The Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Government's Failure to Deliver Human Rights Improvements, "There is mounting evidence that the new government is failing or unwilling to end serious human rights violations, restore the rule of law, institute fundamental rights reforms, and chart a new political direction for the country." The report also noted that "ZANU-PF retains control of all senior ministries, including the Ministries of Defence, Justice, State Security, and Foreign Affairs; and it co-chairs Home Affairs. The party therefore wields significantly more power than the MDC in the government, and is unwilling to institute human rights and governance reforms." Georgette Gagnon, Africa director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement: "The region's leaders [at the SADC summit] need to press Zimbabwe openly and publicly for human rights reforms to prevent the country from backsliding into state-sponsored violence and chaos."
Source: All Africa
Monday, August 31, 2009
Southern African Leaders Should Urge End to Politically Motivated Abuses
Southern African leaders should press Zimbabwe's power-sharing government to end ongoing human rights violations and to implement legal reforms, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Heads of state from members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are holding a summit meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on September 7 and 8, 2009.
The 20-page report, "False Dawn: The Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Government's Failure to Deliver Human Rights Improvements," highlights the transitional government's lack of progress in rights reforms in the six months since it was created. The former ruling party, Zimbabwe Africa National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), has demonstrated a lack of political will to effect change and wields more power than the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the former opposition party and now a partner in government. Police, state prosecutors, and court officials aligned to ZANU-PF conduct politically motivated prosecutions of MDC legislators and activists, and fail to ensure justice for victims of abuses or to hold perpetrators of human rights violations to account.
"Southern African leaders should stop looking at Zimbabwe through rose-colored glasses," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The region's leaders need to press Zimbabwe openly and publicly for human rights reforms to prevent the country from backsliding into state-sponsored violence and chaos."
At the summit meeting, heads of state are expected to assess Zimbabwe's compliance with a number of rulings by the SADC Tribunal on illegal land seizures in Zimbabwe. President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, the organization's current chairman, is also expected to brief leaders on the progress made by Zimbabwe's power-sharing government, which has been in place since February. The government was created by a SADC-brokered September 2008 agreement, which followed a period when ZANU-PF and its allies unleashed a campaign of violence to prevent an MDC electoral win.
In its new report, Human Rights Watch urged Southern African leaders to extract concrete commitments on human rights from the government of Zimbabwe and to tie them to specific benchmarks for progress within a clear time frame. The summit meeting's participants were also urged to raise concerns about Zimbabwe's failure to enact basic institutional and legislative reforms that would guarantee the rule of law as well as fundamental rights for Zimbabweans.
"SADC leaders should stand with the people of Zimbabwe by calling for urgent reforms to address the country's political and human rights crisis," said Gagnon. "Without these necessary changes, Zimbabwe's inclusive government will continue to be built on sand."
Human Rights Watch
The 20-page report, "False Dawn: The Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Government's Failure to Deliver Human Rights Improvements," highlights the transitional government's lack of progress in rights reforms in the six months since it was created. The former ruling party, Zimbabwe Africa National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), has demonstrated a lack of political will to effect change and wields more power than the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the former opposition party and now a partner in government. Police, state prosecutors, and court officials aligned to ZANU-PF conduct politically motivated prosecutions of MDC legislators and activists, and fail to ensure justice for victims of abuses or to hold perpetrators of human rights violations to account.
"Southern African leaders should stop looking at Zimbabwe through rose-colored glasses," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The region's leaders need to press Zimbabwe openly and publicly for human rights reforms to prevent the country from backsliding into state-sponsored violence and chaos."
At the summit meeting, heads of state are expected to assess Zimbabwe's compliance with a number of rulings by the SADC Tribunal on illegal land seizures in Zimbabwe. President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, the organization's current chairman, is also expected to brief leaders on the progress made by Zimbabwe's power-sharing government, which has been in place since February. The government was created by a SADC-brokered September 2008 agreement, which followed a period when ZANU-PF and its allies unleashed a campaign of violence to prevent an MDC electoral win.
In its new report, Human Rights Watch urged Southern African leaders to extract concrete commitments on human rights from the government of Zimbabwe and to tie them to specific benchmarks for progress within a clear time frame. The summit meeting's participants were also urged to raise concerns about Zimbabwe's failure to enact basic institutional and legislative reforms that would guarantee the rule of law as well as fundamental rights for Zimbabweans.
"SADC leaders should stand with the people of Zimbabwe by calling for urgent reforms to address the country's political and human rights crisis," said Gagnon. "Without these necessary changes, Zimbabwe's inclusive government will continue to be built on sand."
Human Rights Watch
Friday, August 21, 2009
Zimbabwe: Zuma to Intervene in Crisis
South African President Jacob Zuma is expected in Zimbabwe next week to douse flames in the country's coalition government amid intensifying arrests of legislators from the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Ten MPs from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party were detained on Wednesday for allegedly causing disturbances at Finance Ministry offices. Several MDC legislators have been arrested over petty crimes in recent months, prompting Mr Tsvangirai to call for Mr Zuma's intervention to solve the problems that threaten to derail the seven month old unity government.
Mr Zuma is the current chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which along the African Union (AU) are guarantors of Zimbabwe's September 15 power sharing agreement.
Zimbabwe's crisis is also expected to dominate the SADC annual summit set for the Democratic of Congo early next month.
Source: All Africa
Ten MPs from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party were detained on Wednesday for allegedly causing disturbances at Finance Ministry offices. Several MDC legislators have been arrested over petty crimes in recent months, prompting Mr Tsvangirai to call for Mr Zuma's intervention to solve the problems that threaten to derail the seven month old unity government.
Mr Zuma is the current chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which along the African Union (AU) are guarantors of Zimbabwe's September 15 power sharing agreement.
Zimbabwe's crisis is also expected to dominate the SADC annual summit set for the Democratic of Congo early next month.
Source: All Africa
Friday, June 26, 2009
HRW: Zim army guilty of diamond field abuses
Human Rights Watch on Friday accused Zimbabwe's armed forces, under the control of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF, of torture and forced labour in the eastern Marange diamond fields.
A new 62-page report documents the killing of more than 200 people by the army in a takeover of the eastern fields last year, saying it believes the illegal diamond trade is a likely revenue source for senior Zanu-PF officials.
"The police and army have turned this peaceful area into a nightmare of lawlessness and horrific violence," said Georgette Gagnon, HRW's Africa director in a statement.
"Some income from the fields has been funnelled to high-level party members of Zanu-PF, which is now part of a power-sharing government that urgently needs revenue as the country faces a dire economic crisis," the rights group said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
A new 62-page report documents the killing of more than 200 people by the army in a takeover of the eastern fields last year, saying it believes the illegal diamond trade is a likely revenue source for senior Zanu-PF officials.
"The police and army have turned this peaceful area into a nightmare of lawlessness and horrific violence," said Georgette Gagnon, HRW's Africa director in a statement.
"Some income from the fields has been funnelled to high-level party members of Zanu-PF, which is now part of a power-sharing government that urgently needs revenue as the country faces a dire economic crisis," the rights group said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Zimbabwe’s Diamond Fields Enrich Ruling Party
JOHANNESBURG — Zimbabwe’s military, controlled by President Robert Mugabe’s political party, violently took over diamond fields in Zimbabwe last year and has used the illicit revenues to buy the loyalty of restive soldiers and enrich party leaders, Human Rights Watch charged in a report released Friday.
The party, ZANU-PF, has used the money from diamonds — smuggled out of the country or illegally sold through the Reserve Bank — to reinforce its hold over the security forces, which seemed to be slipping last year as the value of soldiers’ pay collapsed with soaring inflation, Human Rights Watch researchers said.
Source: New York Times
The party, ZANU-PF, has used the money from diamonds — smuggled out of the country or illegally sold through the Reserve Bank — to reinforce its hold over the security forces, which seemed to be slipping last year as the value of soldiers’ pay collapsed with soaring inflation, Human Rights Watch researchers said.
Source: New York Times
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