Messages From Zimbabwe

A local farmer’s wife was doing the school run to Triangle school from their cane farm on Hippo Valley Estates, when they came across a body of a young man lying on the side of the gravel road. She said that it looked like his face had been smashed in; there were no skid marks at the scene, it looked like he had been dumped there. She continued to the school, dropped of the traumatised children then went to the Triangle police station to report finding the body. The police were reluctant to go as it was Chiredzi Police station’s jurisdiction, but eventually they followed her out to the scene and after examination they also agreed that the young man had been beaten to death.

(Source: via email)

Agents of Robert Mugabe’s regime are harassing and intimidating Zimbabwean dissidents in Britain in an attempt to silence his political rivals and disrupt vital fundraising for Morgan Tsvangirai’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Mugabe’s feared security force, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), is waging a highly-organised campaign to terrify the 4,000 MDC members living in the UK.

It involves surveillance, threats against family members in Zimbabwe, menacing late-night phone calls and bogus messages saying that fundraising activities are cancelled or disrupted.

The existence of the campaign was confirmed last night by British security sources, who said the targeting of dissidents and MDC members was stepped up in recent weeks as Mugabe sought to maintain his grip on power. Police are investigating a number of incidents, including an alleged phone call to an MDC member who was told that his parents in Zimbabwe faced eviction unless he stopped criticising Mugabe.

Yesterday, militias loyal to the ruling ZANU PF party roamed Zimbabwean villages and towns to press-gang MDC supporters into voting for Mugabe in the discredited second round of the presidential election. The European Union described the vote as a “sham”.

But while the brutal treatment that Mugabe’s followers have meted out in his own country in recent weeks, with the deaths of at least 80 people, has provoked international condemnation, tactics designed to instil fear and panic have been deployed out of the public gaze against the 20,000 Zimbabweans living in Britain. MDC officials said a key target of the CIO operation appeared to be the money between £5,000 and £10,000 a month, which was being sent from the UK to back Tsvangirai’s campaign until he withdrew from the ballot last week. With inflation in Zimbabwe running at three million per cent, hard cash is vital to buy campaign essentials such as fuel and printing supplies.

Tendai Goneso, treasurer of the MDC’s UK and Ireland branch, said: “It is a highly-organised and co-ordinated campaign to intimidate members and interrupt our ability to send money to support the presidential campaign. Mugabe has exported the methods he has used against Zimbabweans at home to the heart of the former colonial power.

“The money was very important for enabling us to keep Tsvangirai campaigning. We can buy 10,000 litres of fuel each month and send regular consignments of mobile phones, and that is what they are trying to stop. An investigation by The Independent, corroborated by British security sources, found a range of strategies used to disrupt and coerce Mugabe’s opponents, many of them asylum-seekers who feel unable to complain to British authorities.

(Source)

The African Union last night called for a national unity government in Zimbabwe, but stopped short of directly criticising Robert Mugabe or assigning mediators to help with the crisis. After two days of angry exchanges at an AU summit in Egypt that revealed deep rifts over democratisation, African leaders put together a joint statement that ignored appeals to get directly involved in Zimbabwe’s political conflict, leaving the task of mediation to Zimbabwe’s neighbours. It appeared to put Mugabe under little pressure to step down. In contrast to this approach, the European Union said it would not accept a Zimbabwean government if it was not led by the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai. The French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, made the statement on Europe’s behalf, as France has just taken over the rotating EU presidency.

European diplomats acting as observers in Sharm el-Sheikh expressed disappointment at the AU’s conclusions. The final resolution made no criticism of Mugabe or his government, falling well short of the demands of some African states for his government to be barred from the AU. It only recognised “the complexity of the situation in Zimbabwe” and simply “noted” reports by African monitors of widespread intimidation in the run-up to Friday’s single-candidate election. The summit gave no guidance on how negotiations for unity government should proceed: whether Mugabe should be treated as head of state despite the election debacle, or the recognition to be given to the victory of Tsvangirai in the first round of elections in March. Egyptian officials said that the decision had been accepted by all the African leaders at the summit, including Mugabe. “It’s a shame for Africa,” said a diplomat at the summit who had favoured taking tougher action.

Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia, Senegal and Botswana all questioned Mugabe’s legitimacy in the wake of a government-backed campaign of violence that forced Tsvangirai to withdraw from the election. They argued that the AU should live up to its charter that aspires towards democratic government. They had called for AU mediators to help broker reconciliation talks as the current mediator designated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, is distrusted by Tsvangirai. The statement also appealed to “states and all parties concerned to refrain from any actions that may negatively impact on the climate of dialogue”, an apparent criticism of UN sanctions being promoted by the US and Britain. The resolution emerged as the lowest common denominator between leaders at the summit who wanted to challenge Mugabe’s legitimacy and others who wanted to acclaim him.

The Zimbabwean crisis has brought to the surface simmering tensions among African leaders over whether legitimacy can only be achieved through the ballot box. Those tensions came to a head yesterday evening with an extraordinary call from Zimbabwe’s neighbour, Botswana, for Mugabe to be thrown out of African institutions. Botswana’s vice-president, Lieutenant General Mompati Merafhe, declared that the outcome of last Friday’s elections, in which Mugabe was the sole candidate, “does not confer legitimacy on the government of President Mugabe. “In our considered view, it therefore follows that the representatives of the current “government” in Zimbabwe should be excluded from attending SADC and African Union meetings. Taking the floor in a closed session, Mugabe spoke at length and delivered a blistering counter-attack on his accusers, according to diplomats at the summit. The tone was summed up by his spokesman, who said his critics could “go and hang. They can go to hang a million times. They have no claim on Zimbabwean politics”. After his address to the summit, Mugabe flew home to a country still in ferment.

It was unclear last night how a dialogue would be orchestrated between two sides who yesterday showed few signs of compromise. George Charamba, the Zimbabwean government spokesman, rejected proposals of a Kenyan-style unity government and accused the Kenyan prime minister, Raila Odinga, of having hands “dripping with blood”. Zimbabwe’s opposition party yesterday also played down the prospects of a deal with the Mugabe government. South Africa’s president, Thabo Mbeki, was reported in the Business Day newspaper yesterday as being close to brokering an agreement between Mugabe and Tsvangirai that would lead to a unity government. But a spokesman for Tsvangirai’s party, the Movement for Democratic Change, George Sibotshiwe, told the Guardian this morning: “There is no truth in that. There is no deal. Unless the African Union can identify Mugabe as illegitimate there is no deal.”

(Source)

Former South African President Nelson Mandela expressed concern yesterday over the election crisis in Zimbabwe and criticised the country’s leadership. In a speech at a dinner in London, he said there was a “tragic failure of leadership” in Zimbabwe. Pressure has mounted both inside and outside Africa to call off the vote since MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew. Robert Mugabe, 84, is now certain to be elected to extend his 28-year rule. South African spokesperson Themba Maseko said: “The facilitation talks between the various parties in Zimbabwe are looking at all aspects that will bring a possible settlement… all options are being considered which would, I suspect, include the possibility of a postponement.” He said senior negotiator Sydney Mufamadi was in Harare talking both to the government and opposition. Human rights organisations, Western powers and Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change accused Mugabe of launching a campaign of murder and intimidation after he and his ZANU PF party lost the first round of elections. Tsvangirai said that while he was prepared to negotiate with Mugabe’s ZANU PF before tomorrow, his MDC would “not have anything to do” with a government that emerged from the vote.

(Source)

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I was stunned today when I watched Morgan Tsvangirai pull out of the June 27^th election. I had not expected this but since then have had a couple of calls from Zimbabwe that made the situation a bit clearer.

You must first understand how big a decision this was for the MDC. We are a Party committed to a democratic outcome of this struggle. Elections are our game - we do not want to take to the streets or to pick up weapons to make
our point. We are democrats.

We won the March 29th election by a wide margin. 73 per cent of the population voted against Mugabe. The regime was forced to simply lie about the result to get a run off and only the protection of the SADC States prevented an outright MDC victory.

We were and are quite satisfied that in any free and fair contest the MDC would have walked away with the run off. In the event, what we have witnessed over the past two months since the run off was announced, has been a nation wide campaign of violence and intimidation, the closing down of all democratic space inside Zimbabwe, intensified restrictions on the media and the complete militarisation of the functions of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

Today armed militias were allowed to attack a MDC rally in Harare even though it had been given permission by the High Court and was entirely peaceful. The MDC leadership meeting in crisis session reviewed the overall situation and finally, reluctantly, decided they had no option but to withdraw from this farcical process.

Having done so the way is now open for the new ZEC to declare Mugabe as State President and for him to resume office.

The MDC decision, although painful and difficult for everyone, is in fact a very strategic move. It gives Thabo Mbeki the floor by virtually cancelling the run off and opens the door to SADC intervention. Any government that now includes Mugabe in any capacity, will not get recognition from the international community. It will not therefore attract any international assistance and will be unable to deal with the humanitarian and economic crisis now facing Zimbabwe. Both leave no room for manoeuvre and both demand immediate action.

On the humanitarian front we need to import 150000 tonnes of basic foods every month just to feed the country. Without external help Zimbabwe faces the very real prospect of starvation on a large scale. Currently the country has no stocks at all. On the economic front with inflation raging at 2 million percent or more and run away macro economic fundamentals, a complete economic collapse is not far off and could be triggered by the magnitude of this new political crisis.

The UN is bracing itself for a new flood of refugees both political and economic into neighbouring States and in my view South Africa must prepare itself for a fresh influx at the worst time of the year. Millions of Zimbabweans are preparing to leave the country and the only option for 90 per cent of them is South Africa.

From a political standpoint the global consensus is clear. The Mugabe regime has gone too far. There is now talk, for the first time, of the possibility of charges of crimes against humanity at the ICC. The US is calling for the Security Council to meet urgently on the Zimbabwe crisis. The UN Secretary General has become more vocal and outspoken on the situation and demanded action on several fronts. In the SADC it really looks as if a new consensus is emerging on the crisis, Angola and Swaziland becoming new critics of the Mugabe regime in the past few days.

The Zimbabwe crisis team of Mafumadi and Gumbo were both in Harare over the weekend and I cannot imagine this decision by the MDC being taken without their input. It would seem to me that the stage is set for another emergency SADC summit, that at such a summit the region will at last decide what to do and that the only way forward is the formation of a transitional government that will include all Parties elected to the new Parliament and that will then take the country through a period of stabilization and recovery before holding new elections.

It is quite clear that Mugabe simply cannot play any role in such a government - he was clearly defeated in the March 29th elections and is simply no longer acceptable to anyone except the Joint Operations Command (JOC). The only person who can head up such an interim administration, unless it is on a caretaker basis and will function for only a few months until new elections are held, would be Morgan Tsvangirai. The rest would be up to negotiations sponsored by the SADC and the UN. Clearly South Africa cannot continue in its role as a mediator and must step aside for someone more distant from the region and the current regime. This would allow South Africa and the SADC States to assume the role of enforcer rather than a mediator.

One of the phone calls I had today spoke of widespread violence in Zimbabwe. People being forced to do things against their will and children not attending school for security reasons. It is quite clear that not only do we have a rogue regime in Harare, but also it is a rogue out of control. That wounded buffalo of mine is just staying in the Jesse and destroying what is left instead of coming out and facing his hunter one last time. In effect the MDC as the hunter has prudently decided to seek help rather than try to deal with the old bull on its own. It may well prove to have been the right decision.

For all our friends all over the world, do not despair, I think you can clearly see that our first shot was fatal - it is just taking a bit of time to take effect. Whatever happens now, Mugabe is no longer capable of governing Zimbabwe. He said on Friday only God can remove me from power. He must know that his challenge would have been heard where such things matter and that his plea is being attended to.

Eddie Cross

Johannesburg,

22 June 2008

(Source: via email)

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has warned a week ahead of a run-off election that he will not leave power until land is returned to the majority black population, state media reported Friday.

‘Once I am sure this legacy (of returning land to the black population) is truly in your hands, people are empowered… then I can say: Aha, the work is done,’ Mugabe said in the Herald newspaper.

‘I walk on this land. I farm on this land. I sleep on it… That is truly our number one legacy.’

The government mouthpiece reported that Mugabe made the comments at two rallies in the Matabeleland North province in the country’s west.

Mugabe has previously warned he was ready to fight to keep the opposition out of power, and he repeated earlier statements about veterans of the 1970s liberation war.

‘The war veterans came to me and said: ‘President, we can never accept that our country, which we won through the barrel of a gun, be taken merely by an ‘x’ made by a ballpoint pen’.’

Mugabe embarked on a chaotic land reform programme at the turn of the decade which saw some 4,000 white-owned farms expropriated by the state.

He has repeatedly portrayed his opponent in the June 27 run-off vote, Morgan Tsvangirai, as a stooge of former colonial power Britain, and returned to that theme in the Herald report.

(Source)

ZANU PF’s youth militia, aided by war veterans are now resorting to the use of highly toxic herbicides to injuries inflicted on victims. To date, doctors say at least 12 people including a nine year old girl had her buttocks laced with Tactic Cattle Spray, a dipping chemical, and Paraquat. This is to exacerbate pain as well as increase the chances of fatality. A visit Tuesday to one of the private health care cantres set up by missionary doctors in Harare revealed a grim picture of Robert Mugabe’s desperation to stay in power. One MDC victim, Tonde Mondiwa aged 24, had his skin on the left leg pealing off. Both arms are full of blisters. Doctors said his chance of full recovery are next to nil. “The cell death in Tonde’s skin tissues are rapid, his chance of recovery are nil now.” Paraquat is a highly toxic herbicide which medical experts say can be fatal if it enters the bloodstream or when swallowed by accident even in small measures.

The ZANU PF militias, led by war veterans has been administering this kind of punishment on victims of violence since the retribution started after Mugabe’s loss to Tsvangirai in the presidential election held on March 29. Paraquat, described as a quick-acting, non-selective herbicide, which destroys green plant tissue on contact and, by translocation within the plant, was widely used in the farming areas to kill any green weeds in preparing land for planting. “When I was beaten up by the green bombers they poured cold water laced with Paraquat on my leg” recounts Tonde. Doctors said the injuries sustained by some of their patients especially those in the buttocks through beating are unusual and not consistent with beating. Bones in buttocks are left exposed and grisly. The herbicide eats through the tissues, hence the horrific sight of the injuries, they told me.

A single swig of Paraquat, immediately spat out, can cause death as a result of fibrous tissue developing in the lungs leading to asphyxiation. Long term exposures to paraquat would most likely cause lung and eye damage. “This is sickening, two teaspoons are enough to kill .There is a chemical war against supporters of the MDC which no-one has been aware of,” said the doctor. She said with time Paraquat affects the lungs and liver and can also lead to kidney failure. Douglas Gwatidzo, the spokesman for the Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights, says the medical fraternity is baffled by the gravity of the injuries and length of time they were taking to heal despite the fact that some of the wounds were not burns.

(Source)

There was wanton destruction of property in Mbare on Sunday after Zanu PF youths reacted angrily to the visit to Matapi police station by a group of observers from the Southern African Development Community. The observers had gone to Mbare on a fact finding mission to investigate the living conditions that Biti was being held under at the now infamous Matapi police station, which the regime uses to lock up its political opponents. The MDC MP elect for Mbare, Piniel Denga said the observers were denied permission to see Biti, who has only been seen once in public since his arrest last week Thursday. He was arrested at the Harare International Airport soon after returning from South Africa where he had been based for the past two months. According to Denga, trouble began the moment observers left the station. Hoards of ZANU PF thugs, who were monitoring the movement of the observers from a safe distance, started attacking residents living near the police station.

“There was mayhem in Mbare. We thought the presence of observers was going to improve the security situation but it has only made things worse. These ZANU PF guys literally told people there was nothing that the observers could do to stop them from re-educating people to vote wisely on 27th June,” Denga said. The Mbare MP said the observers seemed nervous and tense when it became apparent that ZANU PF youths were patrolling the area. The observers took note of the situation and promised to forward their concerns to the head of the observer mission. “I have never witnessed such political harassment and intimidation in my adult life. This has become unprecedented, where they indiscriminately beat up people with the police watching and doing nothing,” Denga added. In Kadoma, hundreds of people were force marched to attend a rally that was to be addressed by Robert Mugabe. Our source told us ZANU PF youths were moving from door-to-door ordering home owners to attend Mugabe’s rally.

(Source)

Authorities in Zimbabwe have banned wind-up receivers, a favourite among nongovernmental organisations seeking to promote access to information in rural areas. Their presence has often spawned listening clubs accused of tuning in on “illegal” foreign news bulletins broadcast through shortwave or AM. Instead of batteries, which are almost unavailable in Zimbabwe, the low-priced gadgets are powered by human muscle. Along with satellite dishes, ownership of a wind-up radio is enough to land villagers in trouble. “They have been warned that they must hand in those radios. It has become a subversive tool,” says Rob Jamieson, chairperson of the Southern Africa Editors’ Forum. “It is quite shocking to see the situation in Zimbabwe. No professional media in Zimbabwe can operate,” says Jamieson, who was part of a week-long mission that went to Zimbabwe.

The mission found that journalists operate under the constant fear of being abducted, arrested, detained or beaten up. They have to battle for survival in a failing economy that has also placed extreme pressure on the remaining local media businesses. Freelancers battle to get accreditation and are sometimes forced to operate illegally. “There is no way they can be accredited because you have to belong to a media organisation to be accredited,” says Jamieson. Even then, licensed journalists cannot travel outside the city centre for fear of security agents and militia in the rural areas. Under those conditions, normal journalistic investigation becomes a hazardous task. Worsening the conditions is the harassment and departure of lawyers and other human rights defenders, leading to concern that there might be no one to assist should journalists be arrested.

Last month three people, two of them South Africans, were sentenced to six months’ imprisonment after they were caught with “illegal broadcasting equipment” for British TV network Sky TV. A few weeks ago a truck transporting 60000 copies of The Zimbabwean - a newspaper produced in SA and the UK - to Harare from Musina, was petrol-bombed by unknown assailants. “What I saw and experienced I had not seen in any part of Africa these days, even in Ethiopia and the Gambia - countries that we say are difficult,” says Gabriel Baglo, the Dakar-based Africa director of the International Federation of Journalists. Another member of the mission, Luckson Chipare, says Zimbabwean journalists are often forced to move towns when the heat gets too overwhelming. Chipare also painted a gloomy picture of the main TV news bulletin. “There is not a single bulletin that talks about the opposition except to denigrate them. It’s all about ZANU PF.”

(Source)