Edmonton and Johannesburg - Canada may back a move to ban Robert Mugabe from a summit of Commonwealth leaders in Australia in October, John Manley, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, told the National Post yesterday. This follows suggestions by John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister, that his government would back moves to exclude Mr. Mugabe, the Zimbabwean President, from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Brisbane, and signals from South Africa's top banker that his country was losing patience with the continuing chaos and mayhem in Zimbabwe.

Mr. Manley said Canada is concerned about the steady deterioration of law and order in Zimbabwe, where government-backed militants have launched violent attacks against white farmers, political opponents and other critics, destroying the economy and prompting widespread international criticism. The Canadian government suspended direct aid to the African nation in May. The Foreign Minister said the matter will be high on the agenda when the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), to which Canada belongs, meets in London next month.

Mr. Manley said he expects his Australian counterpart to make the case for excluding Zimbabwe from the Brisbane meeting when the ministers gather in London. "Our first task will be to deal with it in that context. I know the Australian Foreign Minister will certainly have some clear views. Of course, it's been a matter of concern for the British as well," he said. Concerns have also been aroused by Mr. Mugabe's refusal to allow a surveillance mission of representatives from Australia, Barbados and Nigeria to tour his country. "Zimbabwe has very insistently taken the position that they don't fall under the mandate of CMAG. We will have to deal with that too," Mr. Manley said. Moves to exclude Mr. Mugabe from the meeting are gaining momentum as his government intensifies its campaign of terror against whites, journalists, opposition Members of Parliament and judges.

In Johannesburg on Wednesday, Tito Mboweni, South Africa's Reserve Bank Governor, told investors it was "time to call a spade a spade" because Zimbabwe's leaders appear not to understand diplomatic language. "The situation has become untenable when it is seen that the highest office in that land seems to support illegal means of land reform, land invasions ... beating up of people, blood flowing everywhere," Mr. Mboweni said. "I am saying this as forcefully as I am because the developments in Zimbabwe are affecting us and are stressing us unnecessarily ... the wheels have come off there."

As Mr. Mboweni spoke, the South African currency, the rand, hit a new low, driven down by the continuing uncertainty. There is also concern the Zimbabwean crisis is damaging tourism throughout the region, scaring off investors and creating a flood of illegal migrants. The central banker's hard-hitting speech was the toughest heard from a senior South African official on the topic of Zimbabwe. The government has finally lost patience. In a TV interview three weeks ago, Thabo Mbeki, the South African President, admitted for the first time that his efforts to reason with Mr. Mugabe had failed, although he continues to mute criticism of his old comrade in an effort to maintain open lines of communication.

It was also clear yesterday Mr. Mbeki was pleased to hear Mr. Mboweni making the kind of statements that other officials cannot. "Why should we be angry?" asked Bheki Khumalo, a spokesman for the President's office, regarding Mr. Mboweni's statement. "We are indeed very concerned. We want to avoid an economic meltdown in Zimbabwe. That is why we are sending a task force there to see how we can resolve the crisis." Ten days ago, 13 southern African leaders took an uncharacteristically hard stand against Zimbabwe when, at South Africa's behest, they appointed a committee of presidents to try to resolve the crisis.

The country has been in an uproar since February last year, when self-styled "war veterans" began to invade white-owned commercial farms so the properties could be redistributed to landless black farmers. Mr. Mugabe has ignored pleas to end this program of land seizures and his anti-white rhetoric becomes harsher by the day. "They will not be treated like special creatures," he said this week of the 21 white farmers who had been in prison since Aug. 6 for allegedly inciting violence by war veterans. "Why should they be treated as if they are next to God?" he asked on state television. "If anything, they are next to he who commands evil and resides in [the] inferno." The farmers were released on bail this week, but forbidden to return to their farms. Yesterday, the Zimbabwean government issued yet another threat to journalists.

London - For the first time in its 20-year history Zimbabwe faces the threat of famine unless emergency food aid can be distributed to the country’s poor in the coming months. According to a confidential Whitehall report prepared this month and seen by The Times, the production of maize, the staple diet for the black population, is down nearly a third on last year and shortages could become acute by November. "They have basically got three months left," a British official said. "They will need outside help or face food shortages," the official added.

The World Food Programme now lists Zimbabwe, once one of the continent’s most productive nations, among its list of countries facing "exceptional food emergencies in sub-Saharan Africa". Maize production this year is 1.47million tonnes, 28 per cent lower than last year and leaving a shortfall of half a million tonnes. Slumps in food production are not unusual in southern Africa, which is prone to droughts. This is, however, the first time that Zimbabwe will be unable to feed its population for entirely political reasons. Because of a related economic crisis it no longer has the foreign currency necessary to import food. What food is available is likely to be priced beyond many of the country’s needy.

Large parts of the farming sector have been brought to a standstill since last year’s policy of President Mugabe to allow so-called war veterans to seize land belonging to white farmers and people linked to the opposition. To compound the problem, there are fears that foreign countries may be unable to assist starving Zimbabweans because hardliners in the regime in Harare do not want to admit that there is a problem. British officials say that Mr Mugabe will not want to admit that he needs outside help to feed his people as he prepares for a tough re-election battle next spring.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which has attempted to mediate in the 18-month land battle, has drawn up an emergency relief plan, but is unable act until it is asked by the Government. "There is a plan ready to help Zimbabwe, but the Government has so far shown no urgency in responding to the crisis," Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said. While the world’s attention had been focused largely on the plight of white farmers, tens of thousands of black Zimbabweans were struggling to survive, he said. Those most at risk are former black farmworkers who have been driven out of their jobs by land seizures as well as the urban poor, many of whom have lost jobs during the country’s economic troubles.

The Foreign Office is hoping that, even at this late stage, pressure can be brought to bear on Mr Mugabe to halt the land seizures, restore law and order and reopen dialogue with outside countries. Nigeria and South Africa are pressing Mr Mugabe to back down and will mediate between Britain and Zimbabwe at a foreign ministers’ meeting in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, next month. Britain is under no illusions. It has withdrawn a standing offer to provide £36million to help to fund a peaceful land redistribution programme.

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Former state president, Canaan Banana, said this week the presidential term should be limited to two tenures and that Zimbabwe is not an individual’s private personal property but belongs to all Zimbabweans. "All of us must be reminded that Zimbabwe is not one individual’s private and personal property but belongs to us all," Banana told 30 journalists attending a four-day presidential election reporting workshop in Beitridge. "In fact, as I have observed elsewhere, this nation belongs to the dead and the living, the already born and those yet to be born."

"The incidents of intimidation, torture, rape and murder that marked the June 2000 election and some recent by-elections are strategies and tactics that are too expensive to be entertained," said Banana. "The people of Zimbabwe deserve an atmosphere of peace and serenity to enable them to exercise their freedom of choice without fear of victimisation from any quarter." He said the people of Zimbabwe should say no to politicians who sacrificed the lives of innocent Zimbabweans to achieve political ends. Leaders of all political parties contesting next year’s presidential election should exercise political tolerance, he said.

At least 110 Zimbabweans, most of them anonymous black citizens, rather than white farmers or political opponents, have been killed in the 18 months of rampant violence inspired by President Robert Mugabe's ruthless desire to stay in power. The figure - calculated by The Independent from reports and newspaper articles since February 2000 - is far higher than previous estimates and gives the lie to the implied assertion that white farmers are the principal targets chosen by the 77-year-old leader. Nine white farmers have been killed during 18 months of land invasions orchestrated by the government. But murders and disappearances centred on civil servants, the relatives of political opponents, ordinary villagers and farm labourers outnumber them by more than 10 to one. The often used figure of 36 deaths in Zimbabwe refers only to the period immediately preceding the parliamentary elections that took place in June last year, and principally covers only active supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

In a typical example of the lawlessness installed as part of Mr Mugabe's campaign to terrorise Zimbabweans into voting for him in presidential elections expected next year, police in Masvingo were reported yesterday to have refused to obey a magistrate's order to hand over 50 government militants for prosecution. The Daily News said police had ignored a request by the magistrate Shortgame Musaiona to bring to court 50 men - young army recruits sent on a rampage through Masvingo's bars and clubs two weeks ago. At least 10 people were injured, five of them seriously, in the disturbances.

Last week, in a similar example of anarchy orchestrated by the government, thousands of farm workers in the Hwedza district - whose white employers had sought refuge in town - were evicted by land occupiers intent on preventing the properties from remaining productive. The labourers are now homeless and many are having to sleep on the roadsides, according to reports. On Tuesday, the prime tourist resort of Victoria Falls was targeted for the first time by militants of the ruling Zanu PF who, according to the Daily News, forced shops in the town to shut and closed the border with Zambia, claiming traders from that country were responsible for inflation.

The Amani Trust, which monitors human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, recorded last month 11 political murders, 61 disappearances, 104 cases of unlawful detention and 288 incidents of torture, including electric shocks, mock drownings and beatings by Zanu PF militants and the police. In spates of violence against certain groups, health workers and teachers in rural areas have increasingly been singled out. As educated people who are also influential, they are widely perceived to favour democratic ideals and are therefore assumed to support the MDC rather than the thuggish Zanu PF. Some dedicated police officers initially resisted the transformation of their force into a ruling party weapon - occasionally coming to the aid of people under attack - but that core has dwindled at the same rate as the judiciary's emasculation into government servitude.

Johannesburg - South Africa is hardening its stand against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as his country's deepening crisis threatens to have a greater impact on the whole region, officials and analysts said on Thursday. Scathing comments about Zimbabwe by South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni have reinforced other signals that his government is putting more pressure on Mugabe, they said. "The president has said he is very concerned about what is going on in Zimbabwe," Bheki Khumalo, spokesman for President Thabo Mbeki, told Reuters on Thursday. "Over the next few weeks he will meet the presidents of Malawi, Botswana and Mozambique in Zimbabwe to try and seek a solution. That process will unfold over the next few weeks."

Mboweni, alarmed by the rand's slide to record lows against the dollar, pound, and euro, stepped up the official rhetoric sharply on Wednesday, saying of Zimbabwe that "the wheels have come off there." "The situation has become untenable when it is seen that the highest office in the land seems to support illegal means of land reform, land invasions, the occupation of land, beating up of people, blood flowing everywhere," Mboweni said. Economic analysts said that Mboweni's comments helped support the battered rand, which had dived to a new low of 8.45 to the dollar earlier in the day in response to comments by a fringe South African politician in Harare. Thami ka Plaatjie, secretary-general of the Pan-Africanist Congress, warned that an explosion in South Africa over the slow pace of land reform was inevitable, and its consequences would be "too ghastly to contemplate".

Southern African leaders acknowledged publicly for the first time 10 days ago that Zimbabwe's deepening political and economic crisis was causing concern and appointed a committee of presidents to try to resolve Zimbabwe's problems. A week earlier, Mbeki admitted - also for the first time - that his efforts to avoid collapse in South Africa's northern neighbour and biggest trading partner had failed, and the crisis was threatening the entire region. "We sit across the border from Zimbabwe, and critical for South Africa must surely be that we don't have a situation that the IMF warned about at the beginning of this year: a meltdown in Zimbabwe," he said. Mbeki has come under fire in the past for taking a neutral stand on Mugabe's support for the seizure of Zimbabwe's mainly white-owned commercial farmland.

Top South African officials have repeatedly said that a similar land-grab would not be tolerated at home, but the absence of strong condemnation of Zimbabwe's controversial land reform has undermined the credibility of those statements. Mboweni stressed on Wednesday that any transfer of land in South Africa would have to take place within the framework of the law. Mbeki's spokesman echoed that position on Thursday. "I want to reiterate what the governor said last night. The South African government will not tolerate any land invasions of any sort. The full might of the law will take its course against anyone organising land invasions," Khumalo said.

Political analysts said the South African government was becoming more worried about the likelihood of an influx of refugees from Zimbabwe, where unemployment is running at more than 50% and inflation at 75%. The collapse of democracy there also undermined Mbeki's recovery plan for Africa, dubbed the "New Africa Initiative". "The softly, softly approach has definitely disappeared," HSBC Securities political analyst Nic Borain told Reuters. "The South African government has made that very clear in the past few weeks - it is very worried about a meltdown in Zimbabwe. Mboweni's comments fit very much into the hardening of attitude."

Kampala - Heads of state from the Southern African Development Community are to be sent on missions to Harare to encourage dialogue between the various groups involved in the crisis. Willy Zingani, spokesperson for Malawian President Bakili Muluzi , who chairs the SADC this year, spoke after the "Smart Partnership Dialogue", which brought together heads of state, business people and other influential figures from all over the continent to brainstorm about the development challenges facing Africa. The SADC initiative - spearheaded by Presidents Mbeki and Muluzi - to start a dialogue in Zimbabwe will involve representatives from Malawi, Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa. The latest meeting in Kampala focused on how to attract more foreign direct investments to Africa. The meeting mainly discussed restoring law and order in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, countries which are or have been wracked by civil war. However, Zingani said that in coming weeks, Muluzi would encourage dialogue between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leaders. But details of how this would be done were yet to be worked out. Also in Kampala on Tuesday, Mbeki held talks with Zimbabwe Vice-President Joseph Msika, who represented Mugabe in Kampala. No details were released.

Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), this week ruled out any possibility of his party forming a government of national unity with President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF. Tsvangirai spoke after reports in Harare and Johannesburg earlier this week suggested that South Africa’s governing African National Congress could be inching towards supporting a government of national unity between the MDC and ZANU PF to pull Zimbabwe out of a deepening economic and political crisis. It is also widely known that some top members of Zanu PF, including former industry minister Nkosana Moyo, would indeed favour such a coalition in the face of what many see as an inevitable trouncing of Mugabe by Tsvangirai in presidential elections due early next year. Tsvangirai said the concept of a government of national unity arose out of a crisis situation and it was always an initiative of ruling parties to harness divergent opinions and not the business of opposition parties. "Our position as the MDC is that it is neither necessary or likely that given the attitude and arrogance of Zanu PF that the issue of a government of national unity could ever be considered," he told the Financial Gazette. "We are not in the business of throwing a life line to people who have ruined the country and are about to face an ignominious exit," he said.

The opposition chief said although the MDC was quite happy to see this issue being debated nationally, his party would not participate in any government of national unity with Zanu PF because the MDC did not want to compromise its clean record as an alternative government-in-waiting. "We have the credibility and calibre within the MDC structures to form a government. We also have the credibility and confidence of the people of Zimbabwe to form an alternative government so that is the route we will take and nothing else," Tsvangirai said. He said it was not in the interests of the MDC to contemplate forming a government of national unity for short-term political gains. The best way of tackling Zimbabwe’s crisis was to have a free and fair presidential election to allow voters a chance to elect leaders to govern them. "The solution is to have free and fair elections for people to choose their own leadership and set this country on a new path, for a better life of all Zimbabweans," Tsvangirai said. "The idea and talk of a government of national unity is solely to save people’s skins and to serve personal egos and interests but this is not the objective of the MDC and we are not going to entertain it." Zanu PF has also rejected the idea of a coalition government with the MDC.

London - The conflict in Zimbabwe is an international problem and should not be reduced to one of race or a colonial issue between President Robert Mugabe's government and Britain, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Wednesday. Straw was reacting to pressure in Britain for action to be taken to halt the violence and descent into lawlessness in Zimbabwe, which formally gained independence only in 1980. It was important not to "play into the hands" of Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party by turning the problems into a black versus white, Britain versus Zimbabwe issue, Straw told the British Broadcasting Corporation. "The important point to bear in mind is that this is now an international problem," he said, adding that Britain no longer had any kind of controlling role in the Commonwealth, which is taking up the question. Australia has made it clear that Mugabe will be at the meeting of Commonwealth heads in Brisbane next month.

President Robert Mugabe’s Cabinet last week devoted its weekly meeting to drafting a strategy that might lead to next year’s presidential election being held as early as January, authoritative sources said this week. The sources said some ministers and senior Zanu PF officials had expressed concern that the rapid drop in living standards would be a major factor against Mugabe’s re-election bid should the election be delayed further to April next year as had originally been planned. "An early election date for January was toyed around with, taking into consideration the expected fall in living standards by April, the time at which the election is expected to be held," said one highly placed source.

The presidential election looks certain to be fought over the economy, a factor that might pose the strongest challenge to Mugabe’s 21-year-old rule. Mugabe will be opposed by Morgan Tsvangirai, the charismatic veteran trade unionist at the helm of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The Wednesday meeting, which was held to find ways to enhance chances of another Zanu PF win during the presidential election, had resulted in the formation of Cabinet action committees tasked to identify and undertake projects that would have quick turnarounds, some over a maximum of 60 days. The committees are on macroeconomic action, infrastructure, fuel and energy, land reform and agriculture, social services and alliance building.

An example of what the committees could do is the introduction of the cheap train service to certain suburbs of Harare and Bulawayo that is being coordinated by different ministries. The meeting, attended by Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa - one of Mugabe’s closest allies - also explored ways of limiting the damage to the image of Zanu PF and Zimbabwe of recent looting of property at commercial farms in Chinhoyi. One of the recommendations of the meeting was the state-facilitated visit by Harare-based foreign diplomats and some delegates from the Organisation of the African Unity yesterday to commercial farms in Mashonaland West, where looting was widespread. Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge took busloads of diplomats to commercial farms in Mashonaland West, where massive looting by Zanu PF supporters and war veterans was reported during the last few weeks. Information Minister Jonathan Moyo was also part of the delegation.

According to the sources, the plan to facilitate the visit by diplomats was aimed at reversing the negative sentiments against the Mugabe administration within the diplomatic community over the handling of the land issue. "The plan is aimed at seeking mileage and political sympathy on the land issue ahead of the Commonwealth meeting in Brisbane," a source told the Financial Gazette. According to the plan, the diplomats would also be accorded an opportunity to listen to the eyewitness accounts of farm workers on how the looting occurred as well as get briefings from the police and security agents. The sources say the plan is ultimately aimed at easing mounting pressure on Zimbabwe over its handling of the land issue and the breakdown of the rule of law ahead of the summit of the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government to be held in Australia in October.

Yesterday’s visit was also tailor-made for diplomats to meet successful resettled farmers and hear their testimony on the land reform exercise being undertaken by the government. The government has accused white commercial farmers in Mashonaland West of paying their workers to loot property at the farms to draw international condemnation of the resettlement exercise. Zanu PF supporters and war veterans are accused of having gone on a looting spree and damaging property worth more than $1billion during the last three weeks after some white farmers in the area had clashed with the resettled peasants.

Masvingo - Police in Masvingo have refused to comply with an order by a magistrate to hand over about 50 soldiers, who went on a rampage two weeks ago and beat up people in public bars and night clubs in Masvingo town, for prosecution. A Masvingo magistrate, Shortgame Musaiona, on 8 August ordered the police to bring the army recruits to court within seven days to face charges either of public violence or of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. An official at the Masvingo magistrates’ courts said yesterday that the police had refused to bring the soldiers to court, arguing that the $60 deposit fines were proper.

"Police have not yet brought the soldiers to court because they argued that the fines were enough," said the official. They also argued that apart from the fines, the army recruits were going to face disciplinary action at their work places. The recruits, who were arrested following the disturbances in Masvingo, had been ordered by the police to pay deposits fines of only $60. Inspector Simon Mbedzi, the Masvingo police spokesperson, yesterday refused to entertain questions from The Daily News.

In a letter to the officer in charge, Masvingo Central magistrate Musaiona said: "May you, with the powers vested in you, ensure that the soldiers are brought before the court within seven days. The scrutinising magistrate was extremely appalled and shocked at the manner in which your office assessed the case. That young soldiers, supposed to be disciplined, ran amok disturbing peace appeared to have been condoned or blessed in their actions through the paltry and cosmetic fines they were ordered to pay. The scrutinising magistrate is hereby refusing to confirm both the charge and the amounts assessed as he feels appropriate charges ought to be a more serious offence of either public violence or assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm."

The magistrate said since property worth thousands of dollars was damaged while people were injured, it was in the interest of justice to press appropriate charges against the soldiers. "The court views that hooliganism is rife in these young soldier offenders and the public will feel betrayed when insubstantial fines and wrong charges are preferred at the expense of serious crimes. It is gross abuse of justice by requiring the soldiers to pay $60 deposit fines, which amount is not commensurate with the assumed damage caused. What type of justice is this?"

At least 10 people were injured, five of them seriously, during the disturbances, leaving the Masvingo community dumbfounded. The injured were treated at Masvingo General Hospital. The soldiers descended at Ritz Nightclub at around 9pm and started throwing missiles, damaging window panes and beating security guards at the entrance. They also stoned cars outside the nightclub before forcing entry into the premises. Once inside, they opened one of the tills and got away with $5 000 in cash. Patrons ran for dear life as the rowdy soldiers indiscriminately beat up everyone in the club. The soldiers proceeded to Landmark and Wild bars where they beat up people before smashing windows. Windows were also smashed on shopfronts in the vicinity.

Hwedza - Twenty thousand black farm workers and their families were thrown out of their homes this week as President Robert Mugabe's war veterans intensified their campaign to destroy Zimbabwe's white farming community. The war veterans and other militant supporters of Mr Mugabe have brought 14 white-owned farms in the productive Hwedza district to a halt and forced the labourers to disperse. Many of the labourers have nowhere to go and can be seen by the side of dusty roads seeking shelter from the bitter winter nights. At least five white farmers have abandoned their land under threats of violence and 20 more farms have been forced to stop all work. The war veterans go to new properties each day.

In Hwedza the campaign is led by man called Chigwedere, described by one farmer as "a war lord crazed by his own power". "He is creating a humanitarian crisis here," the farmer added. "His aim is to rid this area of white farmers and he doesn't care how much misery he causes to our workers. Our workers are frightened and suffering and Chigwedere is preventing us from even offering them any assistance." Nearby a grey-haired man carrying a suitcase on his head stopped to catch his breath. He was too frightened to give his name. "We were thrown off our farm yesterday and our family was scattered," he said. "Last night we slept under a tree. We hope we can find some friends a few miles away where we can get some food and a place to sleep. Then we must keep moving because of all this trouble." On the back roads there were more families lugging their belongings in duffel bags and satchels. Some were heading for the nearby towns of Marondera and Ruwa.

The war veterans are starting fires which are sweeping through hectares of dry grazing pastures. Columns of smoke can be seen rising from the rolling Hwedza countryside. "It is a wave moving through this district and it might just engulf the whole country," a farmer said. "They want to get all the white farmers off their land. Now they are hitting at our labour because they think that is our weak point." The focus has moved to Hwedza since the war veterans forced about 100 white families to flee their homes in the north-western district of Chinhoyi last week. Nearly 50 homes were looted and vandalised. Twenty-one white farmers who were arrested when they tried to help a besieged neighbour remained in jail last night despite Monday's high court order to release them on bail. They were not released, because officials had not yet produced the warrants for their release, the official Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation reported.

By forcing white farmers off the land Mr Mugabe hopes to regain the support of the rural black population. The presidential election is due in April and Mr Mugabe, already in power for 21 years, has announced that he intends to stand for another six-year-term. The continuing disturbances caused by the land invasions are blamed by veterinary experts for an outbreak of foot and mouth disease that has hit the country and halted its once lucrative export trade of beef to Europe. "The land invaders have cut fences across the country and cattle are roaming freely," a farmer said. "We have already had anthrax and now it is foot and mouth. I am stuck on my farm with my cattle and no labour." The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition condemned the violence yesterday, saying: "The looming food shortages are a direct result of this state-sponsored anarchy. This is not land reform; this is thuggery." The government admits that its land seizure policies are reducing agriculture production. The finance minister, Simba Makoni, told MPs that they had contributed to a 54% reduction in commercial planting of maize, a staple crop.

The land grabs in Zimbabwe were "blatantly racist" - and would be raised at the coming racism summit, South African Human Rights Commission chairman Barney Pityana said on Monday. Addressing the Johannesburg Press Club, Pityana said: "The attacks on farmers and landowners, particularly white people, are orchestrated in a racist fashion. This issue is of great concern to the region, particularly South Africa, due to the effect on our economy and our historical ties. But one must remember that the land issue in Zimbabwe or South Africa needs to be dealt with quickly, because it is a deeper issue of poverty and landlessness."

Pityana said other issues to be raised at the conference included the Palestine issue and Zionism, xenophobia and various countries' treatment of foreigners, war refugees and indigenous people. On the issue of xenophobia, Pityana said the behaviour of South Africans, including public officials, was disgusting. "South Africa's behaviour on this issue is a shame on us. My interaction with the department of home affairs does not give me any confidence on this matter. We are intolerant of these people and use excuses to blame them for crimes and other issues, sometimes for no reason... We need to change our attitudes and mindsets." Pityana said the conference would be funded by South Africa if the United States refused to participate and insufficient sponsors were available. "The government has committed itself to taking its share of responsibility for the conference, costing about R100-million. We have received sponsorship, but it has not even met half the amount." He said although the US was pondering its participation in the conference, the summit would definitely take place.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Monday swore in a former political ally as Zimbabwe's chief justice, four months after forcing the country's top judge into early retirement. Mugabe also appointed three new judges to the High Court to replace three others who were promoted to the Supreme Court earlier this month. The opposition has accused Mugabe of undermining the independence of the country's highest legal body by filling it up with his supporters. The swearing-in of Godfrey Chidyausiku, 54, who was appointed in March as acting head of the judiciary, follows the official retirement on July 1 of Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay. Chidyausiku, formerly Judge President of the High Court, served as a deputy minister for local government and a deputy minister for justice in Mugabe's Zanu-PF government in the 1980s.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's High Court granted bail in Monday to 21 white farmers who had spent two weeks in jail on charges that they attacked black squatters who had occupied white-owned farms. High Court Judge Rita Makarau barred 20 of the farmers from returning home to the Mashonaland West province for four weeks, fearing renewed violence in the area. A 72-year-old farmer who was hospitalised was permitted to return home. The 21 farmers, who were arrested on August 6, denied assaulting the squatters and ruling party militants. They said they went to the assistance of a colleague under siege by the squatters in the Chinhoyi area and were attacked first. Makarau ordered the farmers to surrender their passports to the authorities and to report to the police every Friday. They were each required to post Z$100 000 in bail and to guarantee the same amount in assets.

In a further development the Zimbabwe government has reportedly drawn up a hit list of journalists who it intends to kill or harm ahead of presidential elections next year, a newspaper reported yesterday. The privately-owned Standard newspaper said that on top of the list was the special projects editor of the Financial Gazette newspaper, Basildon Peta. Peta, 30, is also a correspondent for the Independent in London and the Independent Foreign Service, a unit of Independent Newspapers. Other journalists on the hit list, according to the Standard, are Geoff Nyarota, editor of the Daily News, Zimbabwe's only privately-owned daily, and Iden Whetherell, another editor of the privately-owned Zimbabwe Independent newspaper. Mark Chavunduka, the editor of the Standard, and news editor Cornelius Nduna are also on the list, according to the newspaper.

The effort to step up pressure on President Robert Mugabe to stop the economic decline in his country ran into problems last night when the Zimbabwean leader decided to stay away from an international economic summit in Uganda. Instead of attending the Smart Partnership Dialogue in Kampala, Uganda, Mugabe sent in his deputy, Joseph Msika, throwing a spanner in the works of regional efforts which include an initiative led by SA, to arrange a minisummit to discuss the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe. Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, said last night the reason Mugabe had stayed behind was that he had been expecting a visit by Omar Bongo from Gabon. But the visit has since been called off.

Mugabe's absence, which the regions' diplomats said was not an accident, meant talks on Zimbabwe could not happen without him. Two parallel initiatives were expected to be undertaken to intensify the search for a solution to Zimbabwe's crisis. First, it was hoped a three-nation task team comprising of SA, Botswana and Mozambique would hold talks with Mugabe on the fringes of the economic summit, the brainchild of Mohammad Mahathir, the antiglobalisation Malaysian leader and a known Mugabe ally. The three-nation team was set up last week by the Southern African Development Community.

Second, the talks would have involved Don McKinnon, the secretary-general of the Commonwealth, who arrives today. McKinnon's involvement in the informal, yet crucial, talks is seen as an attempt to get resolution to the Zimbabwean issue ahead of the Brisbane summit of Commonwealth leaders. A diplomat close to Harare confirmed that Zimbabwean leadership saw this "facade as an abuse of the Smart Partnership" conference. "Why this hide and seek...this is not how to treat a head of state", asked one official.

However, diplomats from Commonwealth nations said Mugabe had missed a chance to make his case ahead of Brisbane. If he angered the African leadership, warned one, who would defend him? Mugabe's defiant actions have now sent a clear signal of his attitude to the several initiatives being considered for his country. This has also heightened concerns about the forthcoming Commonwealth ministerial meeting which is supposed to iron out the Zimbabwean issue, lessening tensions at the Brisbane meeting. Diplomats close to Harare say Mugabe had also deliberately stayed away to send a message to President Yoweri Museveni, the host, that he could not go to a country he was at war with. Ugandan and Zimbabwean forces are backing rival groups in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. "Until there's a sense of responsibility (from Uganda) we'll not go," one diplomat said. Mugabe's allies Namibia's Sam Nujoma and Congo's Joseph Kabila have also sent junior delegations for the same reasons as Harare. Mugabe's defiance comes hardly a week after the SADC expressed rare concern at the impact of the crisis on the region.

Rusape - Douglas Chapoterera, a top MDC official in Makoni West, and his family narrowly escaped death at midnight on Friday after a mob of Zanu PF militants allegedly trapped them in their house and set it on fire. Chapoterera, 43, is the MDC’s vice-chairperson for Makoni West. The attack has prompted police to beef up security in the constituency, ahead of the parliamentary by-election due on 8 and 9 September. The by-election was necessitated by the death of the former Minister of Defence, Moven Mahachi, in a car crash in June. Gibson Munyoro, a former ruling party Member of Parliament for Makoni South, will face Remus Makuwaza of the MDC in the election.

Chapoterera said on Saturday a group of up to 50 ruling party activists besieged his home in Dewedzo, about 50km west of Rusape, vowing to kill him. Chapoterera’s wife, Chipo, 32, and son Nathan, 9, were assaulted. Also in the house were his other children, Maud, 12, Christina, 6, and Wadzanai, 1, as well as Makaita Mukwena, his 20-year-old niece. Mukwena is pregnant. He said the assailants arrived in a white pick-up truck just before midnight, brandishing pick-axe handles and sticks. He said some were wearing Zanu PF T-shirts. "It’s a miracle we are all alive," said Chapoterera, pointing to his extensively damaged five-roomed house and detached kitchen, as he recounted his ordeal. "I heard some of them shout that Friday would be my last day on earth," he said. His entire household goods were reduced to ashes. He estimated the value of the property damaged at more than $600 000.

Charles Mukumbira, a village head and a member of the MDC, was picked up from a nearby home and force-marched to Chapoterera’s residence, where he was used as a "bait". Mukumbira’s hands were tied with a rope. Mukumbira, 42, was ordered to enquire if Chapoterera was at home. Chapoterera’s wife peeped through the window as she was suspicious. She lied that her husband was away. This only angered the mob. "The next thing we were ducking for cover as they started smashing the windows with stones," Chapoterera said. "They demanded that I come out." And when he did not, they intensified the attack and broke down the front door.

Chapoterera said he fled in the confusion that followed after the house was doused with petrol and set alight. His niece and other children also managed to flee, but Wadzanai was trapped in the house. Chapoterera said he watched in horror from a distance as his house went up in flames, not certain whether or not his family was safe. After realising that he had escaped, the group then torched the kitchen hut, thinking he had sought refuge there. They assaulted his wife and dragged her to their truck. But she fought back and ran into the house to fetch her baby before the fire engulfed the whole house.

The family was said to be fine. Chipo Chapoterera was discharged after she was treated for multiple wounds at Rusape General Hospital. A report was made at Dewedzo Police Station. The police there referred the matter to the district’s regional police headquarters in Rusape. Makuwaza described the attack as barbaric. He said: "It’s hypocritical of Zanu PF to preach peace during the day and invoke violence at night." The MDC remained a non-violent party, he said. Munyoro suspected a "third force" was behind the attacks to discredit the two candidates who have both pledged to campaign peacefully. "Someone, somewhere is trying to tarnish our campaigns," he said yesterday. "I have always stood for non-violence." Munyoro alleged 22 homes belonging to Zanu PF members were torched by suspected MDC supporters on Saturday afternoon in Tsanzaguru. It could not be ascertained yesterday whether the attacks were linked to Friday’s incident. Three MDC youths have allegedly been arrested. Police in Rusape said they could only comment on both cases today, as senior officers were away.

Harare - John Kamonela was beaten to death last month in broad daylight, largely unnoticed by anyone but his neighbours. He is neither white nor a farmer, but is far more representative of the terror unleashed by President Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Last month alone, more black opponents of Mr Mugabe's rule were killed in politically motivated violence than white farmers since the land grab began early last year. Kamonela was murdered in the deprived Harare suburb of Epworth by the government militia because of his opposition sympathies. Another Epworth resident was burned alive a few days earlier after a petrol bomb was thrown into his home; his family does not want his name released for fear of reprisals.

The Amani Trust in Harare, which monitors human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, recorded 11 political murders, 61 disappearances, 104 cases of unlawful detention by the authorities, and 288 incidents of torture last month. Nine white farmers have been killed since April last year. While a surge of international protest usually accompanies attacks on whites - putting some restraint on the government's actions although it may play into Mr Mugabe's hands by focusing on the land issue – the campaign against ordinary black Zimbabweans is relentless. "These figures are only part of the picture, the ones we can confirm with certainty," said Anthony Reeler of the Amani Trust. "The state has very few inhibitions about using violence. We hear lots of reports of people dying but the people are very unhelpful at giving us those statistics. There have been many more deaths in the post-parliamentary election period than before." Up to 40 people were murdered in political violence during the run-up to the June 2000 parliamentary election, which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) came within a whisker of winning. Since then, the Amani Trust estimates that twice that number have been killed.

Torture, including beatings, electric shocks and even mock drownings, is widespread, committed by the police, the self-styled war veterans or by militants of the ruling Zanu PF. Some farm workers on occupied land have been burned out of their homes which have then been looted. Many have been forced to attend political rallies where they were expected to identify MDC supporters among them. Opposition sympathisers were then beaten, or worse, as a warning to others. It is not just the poor of Zimbabwe who are vulnerable; teachers and health workers in rural areas have also been targeted by the militias due to their presumed sympathy with the opposition. Even election to parliament does not provide much protection. Dozens of opposition MPs have been arrested or assaulted, had their homes attacked or faced other intimidation since they were elected in June last year. "Some of the disappeared turn up a few weeks later, tortured, severely maltreated," said Mr Reeler. "They say they have been held at Zanu PF bases or occupied farms. The torture is purely intimidatory, not to extract information. It's to terrorise people, to stop them being politically active. Often it's done quite publicly to send a lesson to others. People are abducted publicly. Their neighbours see it."

Such abuse has been made possible by the rapid transformation of state institutions, such as the police and judiciary, from largely autonomous bodies to tools of the ruling party. The police have been purged of those suspected of disloyalty to the regime and are effectively another Zanu PF militia. They offer little protection to Mr Mugabe's opponents. War veterans have taken their place, earned rapid promotion and, in many rural areas, taken control of police stations in villages. The force is then used to harass and detain opposition supporters, while ruling party activists get away with intimidation, assault, and even murder. The actions of the army and Central Intelligence Organisation, the Zimbabwean secret police which is solely accountable to Mr Mugabe, are little different.

Nor can people look to the courts with any confidence. Many magistrates are sympathetic to Zanu PF or too intimidated to rule against the government. Judges who make an independent stand have been forced to resign after threats to their lives and families. And when a judge does resist the pressure and issues a court order against the government, Zanu PF simply ignores it if it chooses. The Human Rights Forum in Harare, a coalition of 10 groups, including the Amani Trust, Amnesty International and the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, published a damming report last week. "The rule of law has been replaced by rule by thugs. Armed militias roam the countryside assaulting people whose sole 'crime' is to support the opposition party. The victims receive little or no protection from the law enforcement agencies; worse, members of these agencies some times participate in the assaults," the report said. "To retain power in the face of increasing opposition, Mugabe has been prepared to subvert the democratic process, the independence of the judiciary, the freedom of the press, and the professional neutrality of the police and the army. He has deliberately stirred up violence, race hatred and political intolerance, and he has brought economic destitution to his country."

While the government ignores the courts at will, it continually uses the law as another weapon against its opponents. The MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, faces subversion charges for warning Mr Mugabe that if he attempts to hang on to power by force he might be removed by force. Yet Mr Mugabe and his ministers have repeatedly issued public death threats against their opponents. The late defence minister, Moven Mahachi, told a rally last year that "we will move door to door, killing... I am the minister responsible for defence therefore I am capable of killing". In June, the foreign minister, Stan Mudenge, told trainee teachers: "As civil servants, you have to be loyal to the government of the day. You can even be killed for supporting the opposition, and no one would guarantee your safety." Mr Mugabe's opponents expect the violence to get worse. A state of emergency in some form or another is widely expected in the coming months, either as an excuse to call off next year's presidential election or – as many observers think more likely - to provide cover to rig the ballot and bludgeon the opposition into abandoning any hope of challenging a tainted vote.

Harare - Zimbabwe intends to complete the first phase of its land-seizure programme in the next 12 days and white farmers whose properties have been targeted will have to leave immediately, the state-owned Sunday Mail has reported. Agriculture Minister Joseph Made said "the first phase of the fast-track land resettlement programme is expected to be completed in the next 12 days". "Commercial farmers staying on land gazetted for resettlement are required to vacate the properties immediately to allow new settlers to move in," Made said.

Zimbabwe has been in crisis since February last year when militants began invading white-owned land in what they say is a show of support for President Robert Mugabe's campaign to seize more than 5 000 farms for redistribution to landless blacks. The Zimbabwean High Court is to rule on Monday on an appeal by 21 white farmers against a lower court's refusal to grant them bail. The farmers were arrested on August 6 after clashing with war veterans occupying their properties and charged with inciting violence. Mobs of militants carried out retaliatory attacks on farms for a week afterwards, ransacking property and prompting families to flee, before police intervened.

Made accused white farmers of refusing to co-exist with black settlers. "Some have even gone on to beat up resettled farmers. We now require all those in areas gazetted for resettlement to (make) way for settlers." Earlier this month, Made told the mainly-white Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) the government had increased the amount of commercial land that was to be redistributed from five million to 8,3 million hectares of the 12 million hectares it said whites owned. Mugabe says it is immoral for 4 500 whites to own most of Zimbabwe's prime farm land while blacks, who are in the majority, are crammed into unproductive areas.

Last week, the CFU appealed for government assurances that its members in north-western districts could safely resume working their farms after the wave of looting. Since the invasions began last year, nine white farmers have been killed and scores of farm workers injured. The land seizure campaign has been criticised by Western governments, including those of the United States and Britain, and has depressed foreign investor sentiment towards southern Africa. Last week, the privately-owned weekly Financial Gazette quoted government sources as saying a US Senate proposal for sanctions had sparked intense debate within Mugabe's cabinet on whether emergency rule should be imposed if sanctions were introduced. However, the minister of information, Jonathan Moyo, said no such action was under consideration. "All the talk and debate about the possibility of imposing a state of emergency is idle," he said. "The talk has largely been fuelled by opposition elements who have been waiting for a crisis in the country. The suggestion that the American sanctions bill against Zimbabwe would lead to the declaration of a state of emergency is baseless."

Harare - South Africa and its neighbours are preparing for an influx of refugees from Zimbabwe as the economic and political crisis there deepens in the coming months. Three countries - South Africa, Mozambique and Botswana - are bracing to receive tens of thousands of people if the land crisis causes major food shortages, or the campaign of terror unleashed by Robert Mugabe deepens in the run-up to next year's presidential election. Pretoria has had contingency plans in place since the end of last year.

A summit of regional leaders earlier this month publicly warned that Zimbabwe's economic crisis could seriously undermine its neighbours. As a result, the three have held discussions with UN officials about their preparations for a major refugee crisis. South Africa is planning a tented refugee camp at Beit Bridge, just inside its border with Zimbabwe. Mozambique says it will house any refugees at the port city of Beira. The Botswanan army is planning a camp in the far north of the country, near the Caprivi strip. Officials are working on the presumption that white and middle-class black Zimbabweans will flee to Britain, but that the vast majority of the population does not have the means to do more than cross the nearest border.

Zimbabwe's government is predicting a 600,000-tonne maize shortfall - one-third of its usual production - by the end of the year. South Africa's constitution offers specific protection to refugees, which means that Pretoria would find it difficult to turn refugees away, but Pretoria fears dire social consequences if large numbers of Zimbabweans slip on to the labour market, because high unemployment is already contributing to xenophobia. The political crisis in Zimbabwe looks likely to deepen. The minister of land, Joseph Made, told a state newspaper yesterday that white farmers whose land has been listed for seizure must abandon their homes within a fortnight to make way for black settlers.

Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe says he is coming to CHOGM, but he has not informed the Australian Government. A spokesman for President Mugabe in the nation's capital Harare told The Sunday Mail a Zimbabwean entourage would be in Brisbane for the October event. But confusion still surrounds Mr Mugabe's attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, with the Zimbabwe High Commission in Canberra giving conflicting answers. On Wednesday an anonymous spokesman at the high commission said he had no formal confirmation of Mr Mugabe's visit. But on Thursday, the high commission's Joel Muzuwa said the president was coming. Neither the Queensland nor Australian Government has received confirmation of Mr Mugabe's attendance.

A Howard Government MP has called for Mr Mugabe to be banned from CHOGM, calling him a"dangerous, malicious dictator". Parliamentary Secretary Peter Slipper said Mr Mugabe's presence would endanger Brisbane residents through violent street protests. "This man is a dangerous, malicious dictator who has recently pursued a vicious personal vendetta against white Zimbabwean farmers," he said. "He should have absolutely no right whatsoever to come to Brisbane and stand on the world stage with leaders of the Commonwealth. Nobody in Brisbane should have to live in fear because a dictator like Robert Mugabe is wandering the streets."

Mr Muzuwa said: "He is coming like all the other Commonwealth leaders. There is no reason why he should not come." Mr Mugabe's bodyguards have several times attacked protesters when he has travelled abroad. "He will bring his own security like every other Commonwealth leader," Mr Muzuwa said. He declined to reveal when Mr Mugabe would arrive for the meeting. The spokesman in Harare said Mr Mugabe was looking forward to the meeting and there was no question he would be there.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group is expected to debate next month whether Zimbabwe should be excluded from CHOGM but Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon has said he is not aware of any move to stop the country being represented. Mr Mugabe's presence is expected to boost the level of protest at the meeting. The three biggest protest groups - CHOGM Free Zone, Stop CHOGM and the Anti-CHOGM Alliance - have all listed Mr Mugabe's attendance as a major factor in their demonstrations.

President Thabo Mbeki finally grasped the nettle of Zimbabwe this week, working hard behind the scenes at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Blantyre to ensure that the region challenged President Robert Mugabe's handling of his country's growing crisis. Mugabe is likely to come under increasing pressure in the next month or two from both SADC and leading African backers of Mbeki's Africa plan. Mugabe still has some residual support in the Commonwealth where a task team led by Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo has failed so far to make tangible progress in resolving the conflict between Britain and Zimbabwe over land. But diplomatic efforts are under way to ensure that Mugabe will get the same cold shoulder at the Commonwealth summit in Brisbane, Australia, in October that he got in Blantyre this week.

Mbeki's deft diplomatic manoeuvring also ensured that his Africa plan, which has the backing of the eight industrialised nations as well as Africa and the non-aligned movement, will be born without the contamination that Mugabe's involvement in a leadership role would have implied. Zimbabwe was not even on the agenda of the SADC summit before it started this week but Mbeki ensured that it was put near the top once the meeting got under way. At last year's SADC summit in Windhoek, Mugabe won the backing of SADC leaders. This year, the SADC heads of government brushed aside an attempt by Mugabe to win their support for his controversial seizure of white farms and a condemnation of Britain, the former colonial power, for failing to fund land redistribution.

And they appointed a task team spearheaded by South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique to address the problem, in effect telling Mugabe that he was not capable of governing his country alone. Sources said this team would meet possibly as early as Sunday in Kampala where African leaders are gathered for the Smart Partnership summit. Several analysts have noted that the appointment of the task team was a major setback for Mugabe since it will pry into his handling of his country. It has been briefed to consult all role players in Zimbabwe, including white farmers, opposition parties and the government.

"If a country's neighbouring states decide to speak about their brother's problems in public, it is, in diplomatic terms, tantamount to drawing the line on its actions," Jakkie Cilliers of the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria said. "The leaders of these three countries are not the type who can be easily pushed around by Mugabe. It is obvious that they will implore him to implement land reform within the context of the rule of law," said another source. "The fact that the leaders did not settle for a team comprising Mugabe's friends like Namibia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo meant they were sending a very clear message to Mugabe that they want the land issue resolved properly to avoid ripple effects into the entire region," the source said.

SADC sources said the leaders were also unusually frank and critical of Mugabe in their closed sessions. They said Swazi King Mswati III had reflected the tone of the discussions when he later told reporters that Mugabe's illegal seizure of white farms tarnished the reputation of the whole region and that it had to be brought under control. It was generally a bad summit for Mugabe, who also lost his coveted five-year-long chairmanship of the SADC organ for politics, defence and security, which he had exploited fully as a regional power base. Another possible blow to Mugabe was that despite being among the top three economies of SADC, Zimbabwe was not chosen to represent the region in the potentially powerful committee of 15 African nations that will drive the Millennium African Renaissance Plan, now the New African Initiative. South African government sources said the need to advance the initiative was a strong incentive for Mbeki's intervention at the summit. Some official sources said that Mbeki's approach was to warn Mugabe that he needed to take strong action to avoid a potential train smash at the Commonwealth meeting.

The Movement for Democratic Change will send a high-powered delegation to the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Brisbane, Australia, for talks with the various world leaders expected to be assembled there. Morgan Tsvangirai, the party’s leader, told The Standard on Friday that the MDC would make representations to world leaders at the meeting, in order to highlight the crisis in Zimbabwe. The meeting will run from 6 to 9 October. "We will send an early delegation to Brisbane. CHOGM does not provide for the accreditation of opposition parties so we won’t be able to attend the actual meeting. But our delegation will have done the groundwork. We have to talk to a number of people and raise their awareness about what is happening in Zimbabwe," said Tsvangirai. He was unable to divulge the names of the world leaders his party intends to talk to. Tsvangirai said his party would urge the Commonwealth leaders to put pressure on Mugabe to end state-sponsored violence and lawlessness. "We will raise issues of governance and the issue of Mugabe’s violation of the Harare Declaration. Zimbabwe is a signatory to that declaration and we insist that Mugabe sticks to its terms. He cannot continue to violate the declaration with impunity, he has to answer for it," said Tsvangirai.

At CHOGM in Harare in 1991, the leaders pledged to work for the protection and promotion of the fundamental political values of the association which include democratic processes and institutions which reflect national circumstances, fundamental human rights, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. Zimbabwe is likely to be brought on to the agenda because of its violation of the declaration. Since the rejection of its draft constitution in February last year, the government has suspended the rule of law in order to push its agenda of a chaotic and illegal land reform programme. War veterans and Zanu PF supporters have unleashed terror on the farms, on rural school teachers, and on some members of the judiciary because of their failure to endorse the haphazard land programme.

A number of judges, including former Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay, have been forced off the bench because of judgments which have been contrary to the government’s land reform approach. The police has also come under severe criticism for its alleged selective application of the law. It has hastened to arrest opposition officials but has proved reluctant to act in the face of misdemeanours by senior ruling party officials. According to the declaration, a country which violates its tenets risks being suspended from the club’s meetings. Said one source within the Commonwealth: "A certain hot topic at the Brisbane meeting will be the human rights record of member governments, particularly Zimbabwe and Fiji."

Zimbabwe risks being expelled from the Commonwealth because of its poor human rights record. Pressure has been mounting from various organisations and human rights activists for the Commonwealth to act strongly against Mugabe. Still others, such as the gay and human rights activist, Peter Tatchell, have been mobilising for Mugabe’s arrest. Sources within the Commonwealth have told The Standard that members had given Mugabe until the Brisbane meeting, to return the country to a sound democratic condition or risk being censured. Tsvangirai said although his party was against sanctions being imposed on Zimbabwe, it would support any other measures intended to pile pressure on Mugabe to force him to do the right thing. However, he said the MDC was against the idea of Mugabe’s arrest.

The farming district of Hwedza, 80 kilometres south-east of Harare, was subjected to Chinhoyi-style mass orchestrated attack on Friday. At least one farmer was still under siege in his farmstead as this report was compiled, with his entire workforce taking shelter within the fenced-off area. On another farm, 300 people are living in tobacco barns, and six farm vehicles have been stolen. On at least six of the farms, the violence took a similar, systematic, pattern. The farmworkers were first herded from their living quarters into the areas surrounding the tobacco barns, the farmers were forced to pay them wages due, and the workers and their families were then chased off the properties altogether.

Some fled to neighbouring communal lands, while many others were initially just left on the side of the road with their belongings. War veterans then decided that this was "bad publicity", and the farmworkers were then chased into the bush. One farmer who went to investigate is believed to have been beaten with a sjambok. At total of 25 farms in the area are thought to have been affected. The Red Cross and the UNHCR were contacted in an effort to provide food and shelter for the estimated 4 000 people who have now lost their livelihood and shelter, but no help has so far been forthcoming – a representative of the Red Cross having said it was "too political".

Near Marondera, local farmer Ian Kay has again been the subject of serious harassment and intimidation. On Thursday evening his son David left Chipisa Farm at around 7:00, travelling along the dirt road leading to out from the farmstead. At around 10:30 am, a farm security guard radioed through to report that an army vehicle had been seen in the squatter camp on he property. David returned along the same road at 11:30, noticed a road block constructed of large rocks across the road, drove around them and returned to the farmstead. On Friday morning the road was travelled again as the Kay’s went out to tackle a fire which had broken out on the lands. The roadblock was still in place, and a security guard was sent to move the boulders. As this was being done, a hand grenade was found underneath one of the rocks. In the bush surrounding the road firing positions were found where at least three people had at one stage been lying in ambush, with army-style bootprints in the sand. The grenade was detonated by the bomb squad. Ian Kay was severely beaten several weeks ago – for the second time – and subsequently won a court ruling which ordered squatters off his farm. This is thought to have angered the local war veterans.

Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo and Zanu PF MPs in Mashonaland West province provoked the widespread lawlessness and looting on farms in the Chinhoyi/Mhangura area, it has been gathered. Sources said prior to the eruption of violence at Liston Shiels Farm on August 6, Chombo, in the company of Chinhoyi MP Philip Chiyangwa and Zvimba South MP Sabina Mugabe, urged farm invaders at Hunyani Farm, a day before the flare-up, to take over the surrounding properties. Sabina, President Mugabe’s sister, has been instrumental in farm invasions and disruption of agricultural activities around Norton.

Sources said Chombo, who was assessing the progress of resettling squatters on farms, told invaders to capture farms that harboured opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters and garrison them. It is understood that the renewed raids were part of Zanu PF’s strategy to marginalise the MDC from the farming districts ahead of next year’s presidential election and drive farmers off the land. "Chombo openly said resettled farmers should take over the farms where there are MDC supporters," said a source who attended the meeting. "He also told them that co-existence with farmers means they should be using their equipment, water, electricity and other essentials for free. Otherwise, peaceful co-existence is there only at policy level and not on the ground."

Chombo was not available for comment yesterday. "I don’t really know where he is right now," said his secretary. Chiyangwa was not keen to discuss the anarchy and pillaging in his constituency. "Chombo may know better. I don’t know anything," Chiyangwa said before adding: "We were just visiting to see what the situation was like on the farms." The clashes at Liston Shiels Farm - where the mayhem started - occurred a day after Chombo’s visit to the area. Up to 23 farmers were arrested as a result. Recent political instigation of violence in Chinhoyi has a traceable record. Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi stopped in the area after entering the country through Chirundu border post from Zambia last month. Gaddafi, who was on an unofficial visit, told villagers in the hinterland that whites should be booted out of Zimbabwe. Local politicians have also been speaking the language of violence. Vice-President Joseph Msika is reported to have taken the anti-white crusade - which now seems to be President Mugabe’s official policy - a step further last weekend, when he said: "Whites are not human beings."

Farmers - who accuse Mugabe of ethnic cleansing – say war veterans started the violence to facilitate looting and fulfil a political agenda while Zanu PF officials and ministers claim the property owners provoked the havoc. "It is the farmers who are unleashing this violence," Home Affairs minister John Nkomo claimed last week. Farmers however dispute this. "The war veterans and invaders attacked Liston Shiels Farm knowing that neighbours would come to farm owner Anthony Barkley’s rescue," one farm owner said. "They then called the police and claimed they were being attacked. The arrest of farmers is being used to justify state-sponsored violence."

The state-controlled Herald yesterday said that the British High Commission and farmers organised the violence and looting "as part of a plot to justify international intervention in the country’s affairs". However, British High Commission political affairs secretary Richard Lindsay dismissed the story as ridiculous. "Allegations that our staff have been involved in the lawlessness and looting in the Chinhoyi/Mhangura region are completely without foundation and patent nonsense," he said. A Commercial Farmers Union representative in Mashonaland West province said: "Does anybody believe that? I don’t think anybody who can read and write would believe such frivolous and preposterous drivel."

The marauding invaders raided at least 26 farms in the Chinhoyi/Mhangura area and took millions of dollars worth of property. Items seized in the looting included motor vehicles, tractors, petrol, diesel, beds, tables, chairs, bags of fertiliser and cement, television sets, radios, chemicals, refrigerators and whole herds of cattle. Police have arrested some of the looters and recovered part of property. Despite official claims that the situation was now under control, the CFU yesterday said lawlessness persisted in Mashonaland West. "Tension increased on Richmond, Whindale, Caranfel, Cotswold, Solvang and Treelands, causing the owners to vacate their farms immediately for safety," it said. "Illegal occupiers turned over two jeeps on Cotswold Estate, broke into the homestead, destroyed the house and loaded the furniture and household contents onto a truck."

The CFU said the illegal occupiers parked tractors and trailers across the road and held a large party, which farm workers were forced to attend. "Invaders broke into the farm butchery on Dichwe Farm and stole all the meat. The farm stores on Caranfel and Richmond were broken into and all store items looted," said the CFU. It was reported squatters on Whindale Ranch hijacked the farm tractor and siphoned fuel from it. The owner of Mucherengi Farm had to evacuate his farm for security reasons. "Illegal occupiers armed with sticks demanded keys to a farm lorry from the owner of Kismet Farm. On Two Tree Hill farm, illegal occupiers loaded the owner’s furniture and household goods onto a tractor and trailer, and forced farm workers to assist." The CFU said raiders ransacked the homestead belonging to the owner of Long Valley Farm. The owner of Sonops Farm was shot at near his workshops. Two truckloads of fertiliser were stolen from Tree Hill Farm, the CFU said. The CFU is seeking assurances for their members’ safety before they continue farming operations.

Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai urged millions of his compatriots living in South Africa to come home in time to vote in next year's presidential elections. Addressing the Cape Town Press Club in Newlands on Thursday, Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), joked: "In Johannesburg, if you throw a stone, you hit a Zimbabwean. We'd like them to come home and vote." Tsvangirai also called on international observers to come to Zimbabwe at least three months before the presidential election to make sure that it was free and fair. Tsvangirai said he was pleased to note that President Mbeki had taken a more robust stand after admitting that his policy of "quiet diplomacy" had become frustrating. "Even the international community, which was initially quite cynical about events unfolding in Zimbabwe, have realised the far-reaching implications for the rest of the region." Asked whether he believed the "assassination" of President Robert Mugabe would be in the best interests of the country, Tsvangirai said it was not something he would support and that the outcome could be disastrous.

His party was committed to non-violence and any violence committed before the presidential election would not be justified. "It is one thing to remove a president and another thing to reverse the crisis facing Zimbabwe. We believe that rather than pursuing Mugabe, we need to restore the rule of law, establish some degree of civil order and restore the independence of the police and the judiciary." Tsvangirai said his party was also reluctant to call for sanctions at this stage because the country would not survive. However, he said, "we do support certain limitations - Mugabe and his henchmen shouldn't be allowed to travel freely". "And there is no reason why Mugabe should attend the Brisbane conference of Commonwealth leaders later this year."

There had been talk about the possibility of creating a government of national unity involving the MDC and the ruling Zanu-PF party, but there would be disadvantages. "We'd be smeared with the same brush as Zanu PF, but if it is in the best interest to find common ground, it may be the only reasonable way out of the crisis." He also said Zanu-PF was going "one way". "It can neither be reformed nor resuscitated. Mugabe is the only one keeping it alive and any potential reformers have been marginalised." Tsvangirai described Zimbabwe's economic erosion in the past year as "drastic", with unemployment at 60 percent and the currency being sharply devalued - 300 Zimbabwe dollars now equals one US dollar. "We will also be facing a huge humanitarian crisis next year because we'll have to import food and we won't have the money to pay for it."

Tsvangirai had harsh words to say about Mugabe's much-criticised land policy. "Commercial agriculture, the basis of our economy, is being destroyed. You don't need to rape, kill and maim to implement land reform." Tsvangirai said between 350 000 and 400 000 farmworkers had already been displaced and many would in all likelihood not find their way back on to farms. He said most farmers would also have to start from scratch. "But for now our first priority is that people are safe. Farmers should evacuate their farms rather than sacrifice their lives for a house." In spite of the anarchy and chaos, Tsvangirai believes there is hope. "Change in Zimbabwe is irreversible, whether Mugabe likes it or not."

Ludzidzini, Swaziland - In an unusually open criticism of one regional leader by another, Swaziland's King Mswati III said this week that he and other leaders of the Southern African Development Community had to stop Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's undemocratic seizure of white-owned farmland. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday on his arrival from the SADC summit in Blantyre, Malawi, Mswati said the future of the SADC region would be tarnished if its leaders allowed Mugabe to continue grabbing whites' land. "We have already appointed three heads of state to deal with Mugabe on the land grab issue. We felt that what our colleague is doing was beyond the premises of democracy, and he has to be stopped," he said. The king was referring to SADC's decision to appoint a task team consisting of South Africa, Mozambique and Botswana - as well as SADC's present, immediate past and future chairpersons - to address the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe. In an unusually critical statement, the SADC leaders expressed concern about the effects of Zimbabwe's economic situation on the region. At last year's summit, the SADC heads fully backed Zimbabwe on its handling of the land question.

Meanwhile the 21 white farmers from the strife-torn Chinhoyi district of north-western Zimbabwe were to spend their 11th night in jail on Thursday night after a High Court judge postponed until Friday a ruling on their appeal to be released on bail. The farmers, who include South African Louis Fick, have been in custody since their arrest on Monday last week after they clashed with war veterans and other ruling Zanu-PF supporters who had invaded white-owned farmland. A magistrate in Chinhoyi refused to grant them bail last week, and so they appealed to the High Court. High Court Judge Rita Makarau said at Thursday's appeal hearing that she needed time to study the arguments raised by the state and the farmers. Makarau had earlier quizzed Firoz Girach, the farmers' advocate, on whether releasing the farmers on bail would indeed not endanger their security and that of the entire community in Chinhoyi in view of revenge attacks against farmers in the town by the government's militant supporters. Girach replied that individual liberty was sacrosanct and that no one should be denied freedom because of arguments about security.

Denmark froze all aid to the Zimbabwean government on Thursday after accusing Mugabe of fomenting strife within his troubled state. Danish Co-operation Minister Anita Bay Bundegaard said the decision had been taken in the light of the "political crisis which has grown worse within the past few days, marked by increasing aggression and violations of law and order, which the president appears to be knowingly fomenting rather than combating". With the freeze, the total amount of Danish aid to Zimbabwe for this year has been reduced to R71-million, all of it for non-governmental bodies. Denmark has also decided to suspend annual bilateral talks with Zimbabwe scheduled for the beginning of next year. It has furthermore decided to withdraw its three advisers to the Zimbabwean health minister, but is looking for other ways to assist deprived sections of the Zimbabwean population, particularly those living with HIV and Aids.

Chinhoyi - Exhausted and moving with painful slowness, the black Zimbabwean farm worker stood outside the wrecked workshop of one of the country's most productive farms yesterday and said, in perfect English, that the next time he is attacked he will be killed. He cannot be named, nor can his employer, nor can the farm on which he works be identified, such is the fear of this man, who has three children and four siblings to support. He is one of thousands of black farm workers who in the past two weeks have borne the brunt of the violence directed at their white employers.

Scores of black workers have been assaulted by gangs of President Robert Mugabe's supporters in the looting spree and this is merely the latest outrage by Mr Mugabe's shock troops against the very people he claims to be fighting for. The farmers have a radio security network and were able to flee to safety as the mobs advanced. But their workers were left to the mercy of the gangs.

Shabbily dressed in a red shirt and ragged trousers, the 37-year-old labourer described what followed when a gang of 50 men raided the farm. He says: "They came for me with a branch. It had thorns. Two or three of them began to beat me. They would not stop. I know those men who came here. I know all of them and they know me." He adds: "They will come back and kill me, but everybody must die some day. But I worry who will look after all the kids. I have three myself and four brothers because our parents died long ago."

The mob tore a Zimbabwean flag from its pole and roared that they wanted the return of their land. Then they began looting the homestead, sheds and workshop. Everything that could not be stolen was destroyed. A tractor driver was beaten up for refusing to help the gang to steal his vehicle. It came as no surprise that the police, who have been accused of complicity in the rampages, have not taken the black workers' statements. Now the worker is trying to recover the property of his white employer, who fled to South Africa when the gang struck. He says: "We found the tractors, but they are not as they were. I would not help them load up the boss's fertiliser. I can't do that. We don't know if the combine [harvester] is still working, it is new and it cost much. The fertiliser is gone. The boss's house is finished."

The cost of damage and theft at this farm is estimated at more than £1 million and the future of its 150 workers is uncertain. Taking their families into account, a community of 600 live amid the wreckage of the farm and face destitution if it is seized or forced to close. The farmworkers' trade union, the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers' Union of Zimbabwe, appears to have abandoned them. It has not issued a word of protest since this carefully orchestrated violence erupted nearly two weeks ago. A Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions official described the farm union as "very weak" and said it had been infiltrated by Mr Mugabe's Zanu PF party and rendered ineffective. Now the workers fear that Mr Mugabe's shock troops will return and kill them.

Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, endorsed a United States proposal on Thursday for targeted sanctions against his country's ruling elite but said full economic sanctions would be a ruinous mistake. Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), called in a speech in Cape Town for international action to ensure a free and fair presidential election before the May 2002 constitutional deadline. But he opposed any steps that could plunge the country deeper into a recession that has already pushed unemployment, inflation and interest rates above 60 percent.

"If sanctions are imposed on Zimbabwe, it will not survive. That is why, as MDC, we are reluctant at this stage to endorse the sanctions option", he said. "Until such time as (President Robert) Mugabe actually subverts the electoral process -when one goes to that extreme, international sanctions will be an option," Tsvangirai said in an address to the Cape Town Press Club. "However, we do support certain limitations on the villains of the crisis in Zimbabwe. Mugabe and his henchmen must not be allowed to travel freely in the world. We must have targeted sanctions against their children, freezing of assets, so that personally they (feel) the effects," he said.

Mugabe, in power since independence in the former Rhodesia in 1980, has vowed to defy sanctions. In what may be a threat of emergency rule, he has warned of reprisals if they are imposed. The US senate has approved and passed on to congress a bill threatening targeted sanctions if Mugabe does not end attacks on the opposition, media and judiciary. The bill would restrict travel for Zimbabwe's leaders and freeze foreign assets used for personal travel and to educate their children abroad.

Responding to questions, Tsvangirai said he was having to rein in militants keen to fight Mugabe's rule. "The first choice is to commit ourselves to the constitutional path with all its obstacles. We are saying we will not resort to any violent overthrow or to any violent means," he said. "You have people who are 20 years and 30 years (and) below who are asking if we can get guns and go and shoot the man out of the office, but I say: Please, that is the most dangerous thing you can ever do," he said. Tsvangirai said Mugabe was trying to provoke protest that could be used as an excuse to suspend democracy. "If you go to Zimbabwe today, everyone is hoping that come the elections they will be able to remove Mugabe."

"But you are right to say that, probably, he will cheat the next (election) as he cheated the last one. Then, of course, people have a justification to remove the man who has robbed them of their victory. It is probably at that stage that such action will be justified. If you do it now, before the election, you are engaging yourself in illegitimate action as Mugabe is doing at the moment," he said. Mugabe's party narrowly defeated the MDC in parliamentary elections last year. Campaigning was marred by violence against opposition supporters and a campaign to seize white-owned farms for redistribution to blacks marginalised under colonial rule. Tsvangirai said foreign election observers should be deployed in Zimbabwe for at least three months before the presidential poll due by May next year.

London - The Commonwealth is preparing to adopt new rules that could allow for the suspension of Zimbabwe if its slide towards lawlessness continues. Officials from 10 Commonwealth countries, including Zimbabwe, have produced a report that recommends the Commonwealth take action "when a member country is perceived to be in serious or persistent violation of the fundamental political values of the Commonwealth". Commonwealth heads of government will be asked to approve the report in October. It sets out several different actions that could be taken against a country that is flouting the organisation's political values.

A Commonwealth country can in practice be suspended only if its elected government is replaced by a military regime. But the report by a high-level Commonwealth working group provides wider grounds that could bring suspension. The report has to be approved unanimously by Commonwealth leaders on October 6. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe could choose to reject it. However, Britain is optimistic that the report will be approved because Zimbabwean officials on the working group did not object when it was finalised last month.

British officials were surprised that their Zimbabwean counterparts endorsed the report because of its potential implications for their country. The report outlines new grounds for possible suspension by its reference to political values. These include the importance of democracy, human rights, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. UK ministers have repeatedly called for observance of the rule of law in Zimbabwe since Mugabe's supporters began to occupy white-owned farms early last year. They have also denounced the intimidation of judges and journalists.

Britain is relying on international pressure to persuade Mugabe to stop the invasion of the farms and to halt the associated violence. The UK is pinning its hopes on concerted action by the Commonwealth and the European Union. The EU will review its dialogue with Zimbabwe on human rights also in October, and could choose to stop aid to the country. UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will attend a meeting of the Commonwealth ministerial action group in London on September 4 that will consider the working group's report. He will then travel to Abuja in Nigeria for a meeting of Commonwealth countries that will address the vexed issue of land reform in Zimbabwe. Britain is willing to provide more money to finance the transfer of land from whites to blacks, but not until the rule of law is fully restored.