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From The Independent on Sunday (UK), 4 November

White farms under siege as famine looms

Harare - The looming risk of mass starvation in Zimbabwe worsened yesterday as militants moved on to more white-owned farms, beating one worker for refusing to shout ruling party slogans and forcing hundreds of others to stop work. Last night three white farming families were barricaded in their homes after hundreds of militant supporters of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF party, gathered on four farms in Guruve, 100 miles north of Harare. Despite a September deal signed in Nigeria to end such seizures, the occupiers told farm workers they had to make room for new black settlers on the land. The continuing violence threatens to worsen already critical food shortages in Zimbabwe. Farming experts have predicted a 40 per cent fall in agricultural output this year due to the communalisation of commercial farming. The country needs to import at least 700,000 tons of wheat and maize, but has no foreign currency to buy it. A recent report by the privately owned Financial Gazette said nearly three million villagers had registered for food aid with the government. The worst hit people had already started eating tree roots and leaves for lack of other food.

Conceding that three-quarters of Zimbabwe's 12.5 million people were now living in abject poverty, the Finance Minister, Simba Makoni, warned last week that the country urgently needed aid from abroad. But analysts say President Mugabe, who faces a crucial presidential election early next year, will remain the major hurdle to efforts by some of his more moderate ministers to normalise ties with the donor community. Mr Makoni warned that inflation had reached 83.6 per cent, which would be the average rate next year. But while he was urging ties with donors, the Foreign Minister, Stan Mudenge, a close ally of Mr Mugabe, was summoning British and EU diplomats in Harare to censure them for their stance on Zimbabwe. Mr Mudenge is said to have expressed dismay at the EU's "confrontational attitude" towards Zimbabwe. He also launched a broadside at Britain for violating the Abuja Accord on ending the land crisis. He claimed Britain was mobilising international sanctions against Zimbabwe. But, in private, Zimbabwe has asked the United Nations Development Programme to help mobilise food aid worth £200m. The president sent the Finance Minister to hold urgent private talks with Victor Angelo, the UNDP resident representative in Zimbabwe, reports said last week.

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From The Sunday Telegraph, (UK), 4 November

Zimbabwe calls for aid to prevent famine

Harare - Robert Mugabe’s government has admitted for the first time that the country is facing a famine disaster as supplies of maize, the country's staple food, dry up and poor families search arid bushlands for edible tree roots to replace it. Zimbabwe's finance minister, Simba Makoni, last week warned parliament that the country faced "unprecedented hunger". While avoiding any reference to the government-backed farm invasions that have brought about Zimbabwe's food crisis, he called for huge international aid. Dr Makoni said: "Escalating prices and a high unemployment have eroded the quality of life, especially in rural areas. We now have 75 per cent of our people living below the poverty line and their per capita income has dropped to $381 a year (£260). This, with a chronic shortage of food, means that we have to appeal to the international community for assistance."

More than 1.4 million people in Matabeleland and Masvingo, where the poorest are grubbing in the bush for edible tree roots, have registered with the government for food aid. Dr Makoni has issued a warning, however, that government stocks have been depleted and that there is no money to import more. In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city and capital of Matabeleland Province, the state-owned Grain Marketing Board's vast silos are empty. The Southern African Development Community's famine early warning system network (Fewsnet) says Zimbabwe must import 200,000 tons of food immediately if it is to avoid famine.

Altogether, it adds, Zimbabwe needs to import 846,000 ton of food by the middle of next year to see it through to the next harvest. President Mugabe's controversial fast-track resettlement programme has seen about 80 per cent of the country's commercial farms earmarked for state acquisition. More than 100,000 militant supporters, often armed, have invaded thousands of Zimbabwe's farms, preventing farmers planting their crops. As a result, the commercial maize crop has dropped by more than two thirds in the past two years, with many other crops suffering a similar fate.

The Zimbabwean economy, which has shrunk by 7.3 per cent this year, is expected to decline further. The finance minister predicts that it will shrink by at least another five per cent next year. Already Zimbabwe's supermarket shelves are emptying as food shortages and unworkable price controls take effect. Traditionally the country has been an exporter of food, able to feed itself and most of its southern African neighbours, but officials from the World Food Programme say they are considering moving 40,000 ton of maize from neighbouring Mozambique, one of the world's poorest countries, to stave off imminent disaster in Zimbabwe. So serious are the food shortages that they could damage Mr Mugabe's prospects of re-election next year.

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From News24 (SA), 43 November

Zim FM summons envoys

Harare - Zimbabwe's foreign minister has summoned a group of European ambassadors in Harare after the European Union took steps to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe over rights abuses, the state-run Herald reported on Saturday. Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge wanted to question the diplomats from Britain, Spain and Belgium and the European Union's head of mission about Britain's role in the decision taken by EU foreign ministers on Monday to move towards imposing sanctions on the southern African nation, the paper said. He also questioned Britain's commitment to the Abuja agreement, a Commonwealth-brokered deal reached two months ago in which Zimbabwe agreed to curb political violence in exchange for British financing of its land reforms. British ambassador Brian Donnelly reportedly said he would inform his government of Zimbabwe's concerns.

On Monday, EU foreign ministers agreed to invoke Article 96 of the Cotonou agreement that governs relations between the European Union and its African, Caribbean and Pacific partners. That means Zimbabwe will be sent a formal letter by the 15-nation EU asking for consultations within 15 days on five contentious issues: ending political violence, election monitoring, press freedom, judicial independence, and a halt to illegal occupations of white-owned farms. Once the consultations are completed, the European Union will have up to 60 days to decide what action to take. It is widely expected any such action will include sanctions aimed at isolating President Robert Mugabe's regime. The EU decision followed Zimbabwe's refusal to accept European election observers, as the southern African state gears up for a presidential vote due by April next year. It also followed a Commonwealth delegation's appeal in Harare one week ago for Mugabe's government to respect its own laws and investigate reports of widespread rights violations.

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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 2 November

EU rejects claims of British arm-twisting

Britain does not have the power to recommend the imposition of sanctions on Zimbabwe by the European Union; such a decision has to be agreed to by all member-states, the new European Commission head of delegation in Zimbabwe, Francesca Mosca, told the Zimbabwe Independent this week. Mosca said the issue of sanctions was not a one state mandate. "The EU is made up of 15 members so it is impossible for a single nation to take a leading role in the inception of resolutions without the consent of other member-states," she said. Government functionaries have claimed that the British government is mobilising the EU impose sanctions on Zimbabwe. Mosca said the position of the EU was to engage in talks with government concerning pertinent issues which have created the tensions between EU nations and Zimbabwe. The EU, she said, was still optimistic that Zimbabwe would allow the trading bloc’s observers to monitor the presidential poll next year. "The EU is concerned about violence in Zimbabwe," said Mosca. "One of the major priorities of our organ has been primarily focused on the presidential election next year. It is our mission that there should be free and fair elections," she said. Zimbabwe last week refused to admit European Union observers saying this was a violation of the country’s sovereignty. EU ministers of foreign affairs held a meeting on Monday under the auspices of the General Affairs Council where they noted there had been no progress in regard to ending violence or violations of human rights in the country.

The meeting, largely viewed as the beginning of the process to impose sanctions on President Mugabe’s rogue regime, focused on reviewing the situation in Zimbabwe. Issues like an end to political violence, facilitation of electoral monitoring, freedom of the media, independence of the judiciary as well as an end to the illegal occupation of properties came under scrutiny. Mosca said the council reiterated the EU’s readiness to assist Zimbabwe in preparing for and holding the election. She said she hoped the country would respond rapidly to the EU’s offer to send an exploratory mission for that purpose and then invite it to send EU observers to monitor the election itself. Last year’s parliamentary election held in June was characterised by a wave of political violence which resulted in at least 35 deaths. Mosca said the EU was not allied to opposition political parties as suggested in some political circles. The grouping was involved in a broad dialogue to foster relationships with all parties. "We have been involved with the government, non-governmental organisations, civic societies and the other political parties in the context of a broader exchange of views," she said. Mosca said the EU indirectly assisted the electorate through assistance in the purchase of ballot boxes, election observer support and other electoral concerns.

On the land issue, the EU envoy said the organisation recognised the inequities of Zimbabwe’s agrarian structure, its historical origins and the need to redress the imbalance. She said that the EU agreed that land reform could contribute to poverty reduction and was essential for stability. "The EU will therefore support land reform, including non-governmental initiatives, provided that these are implemented in a transparent, fair and sustainable manner, with respect for the law, broadened stakeholder and beneficiary participation and the inclusion of community-based land redistribution initiatives," she said. Asked to comment on the flow of aid to the country by EU member states, Mosca said that the issue depended on individual nations.

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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 2 November

Govt builds fuel stocks

Zimbabwe is building up large fuel stocks to face international sanctions and provide for campaigning for the presidential election next year. Government sources said Zimbabwe was taking advantage of the concessionary arrangement with the government of Libya, which in August provided a US$90 million line of credit to import huge stocks of all oil products. The Zimbabwe Independent understands that a Libyan business delegation met President Mugabe at his Munhumutapa offices on Tuesday for almost four hours to discuss investment opportunities in Zimbabwe. The Libyan fuel is being paid for in local currency which is deposited at the Jewel Bank. The Libyans would like to use the proceeds from the sale of fuel to invest in agriculture, tourism and fuel industry.

The Independent has been told that Libyan investors were in Mashonaland West and Mashonaland East inspecting farms on Tuesday. The respective governors Peter Chanetsa and David Karimanzira accompanied the investors on the trips. As Libyan investors continue to explore business opportunities here it is not clear whether Zimbabwe has started to pay for the fuel and, if so, how much has been imported. Fuel industry sources this week said Zimbabwe was importing almost one-and-a-half times its normal monthly consumption in a bid to build stocks which had been virtually wiped out in the last 20 months of critical foreign currency shortages. Zimbabwe’s current monthly consumption is around 60 million litres but as much as 90 million litres are being pumped through the pipeline from Beira, with over a third of all imports going into the reserves.

"The idea is to build between six months and a year’s reserves of all products before the expiry of the deal with the Libyans," a source in the industry said. "Before the shortages started almost two years ago, Zimbabwe used to have six months reserves but the truth of the matter is that other than the Libyans, no one is prepared to go into a big deal with Zimbabwe because of the country’s high risk factor. Zimbabwe would rather make hay while the sun shines," the source said. The industry sources said Zimbabwe had enough storage facilities such as the underground tanks in Mabvuku and Msasa, which can store up to 700 million litres of fuel. This is enough to supply the country for 10 months. Zimbabwe consumes two million litre of fuel per day. There are however other storage facilities at Birmingham Road in Harare, Beitbridge, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare and the smaller urban centres. These have a combined capacity of over 500 million litres.

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From ZWNEWS, 3 November

Frantic lobbying frenzy falls flat

The flight home to Harare by the government representatives must have been dismal. A week of frenetic lobbying by a Zanu PF delegation in Brussels last week had fallen completely flat, with the EU Council of Ministers invoking Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement, and European and developing country parliamentarians failing to deliver the support the Zimbabwe government had been expecting, and relying upon. The recent setbacks began with the snub delivered to the Belgian foreign minister, Louis Michel, by Stan Mudenge, his Zimbabwean counterpart the week before. The Belgians, who are the current holders of the rotating EU Presidency, had met with Mudenge to discuss whether Zimbabwe would allow an EU observer team to monitor the run-up to the presidential election, and the poll itself, which must be held by 17 March 2002. "We will not accept demands…," Mudenge said on his arrival back in Harare on 24 October. "We want to tell them don’t try the Milosevic in Zimbabwe" a statement which clearly angered the Belgian government. The spat set the tone for the meeting of the EU Council of Ministers the following Monday, 29 October.

Under EU rules, relations between the 15 EU member states and the rest of the world are not a matter of majority voting, but must be unanimously accepted by all 15 EU foreign ministers. Any single country can therefore veto changes to EU foreign policy. The Zimbabwe government had been relying on the French government to come to their rescue, as it has done so many times in the past. French foreign policy towards Africa has traditionally been driven by two factors : their desire to maintain influence in former French colonies, and, the more cynical of European commentators would say, the more important aim of destabilising the influence of the British in the rest of the continent. More recently, France’s poor relationship with the current government of Rwanda (dating back to French support for the Hutu side in the Interwehamwe massacres) has also left them as natural allies of Zimbabwe in the DRC war. This time, however, the "Alliance Francaise" broke down. On the Monday, the French voted with all other EU states to invoke Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement - the treaty which governs relationships between the EU and former European colonies. A letter will be sent shortly asking for talks on the human rights situation, and a 60-day deadline has been set, after which punitive measures will be considered. The Zimbabweans were stunned.

The remainder of this last week was taken up with a joint sitting of the EU/ACP parliamentary group linking parliamentarians from the 15 European countries and 54 nations from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Decisions from this group cannot override policy by the EU council of ministers, but the Zimbabwe government was nevertheless determined to get some moral backing from the joint sitting. Further frenetic lobbying by the Zimbabweans, backed by the Namibians, began. Two motions had been put to the session. One, drawn up by European MPs, contained sharply-worded condemnations of the human rights record of the Zimbabwe government. It "insisted" that the EU council of ministers introduce travel bans and the freezing of the personal assets of President Mugabe and top Zanu PF politicians, that poll observers be allowed into Zimbabwe, that a special Commonwealth summit on Zimbabwe be called, and that there be close supervision of food aid to prevent it being used by the Zimbabwe government as an electoral tool. A second resolution, drawn up by Zimbabwe and Namibia, "deplored" the decision by the EU ministers to invoke Article 96, and offered general support for the Zanu PF view of the world.

The rules of the EU/ACP sessions are that resolutions can only be adopted if there is majority support in both the EU and ACP groupings an overall majority is not sufficient. With two such diametrically opposed motions before the meeting, it was unlikely from the start that either would win support within both camps. With EU MPs backing their own motion, it would have required 27 of the ACP nations to vote with the EU for the resolution condemning the Zimbabwe government, and insisting on targeted punitive measures, to have been adopted overall. The Zimbabweans and Namibians were confident that their persuasive powers would result in the voting splitting neatly into voting blocs, with the ACP nations overwhelmingly backing their cause.

Not so. During the debate itself, speaker after speaker, from both EU and ACP groupings, stood up to condemn the behaviour of the Zimbabwe government towards its own people over the last two years. Zanu PF MP Edward Chindori-Chininga spoke in defence of his government’s actions, but, in an unprecedented move, MDC MP Abednico Bhebhe, was allowed to answer the Zanu PF claims. Mr Bhebhe is the MP for Nkayi who was abducted earlier this year by Zanu PF thugs and tortured for several days. Never before has an opposition MP been allowed to speak in rebuttal of his own government’s representative. Mr Chindori-Chininga then asked to reply, but was turned down. The voting confirmed the government’s fears. Out of 54 ACP nations, 17 voted with the EU MPs to condemn the Zimbabwe government ten short of the required majority within the ACP group for the resolution to be adopted overall, but nevertheless nowhere near the solid backing the government had been expecting. There was also another defeat for the Zanu PF representatives. A compromise resolution, which, in the event, was never voted upon, was drafted by MDC MPs at the session and was backed by South Africa, Zambia, Botswana and Lesotho. It concentrated on the forthcoming elections, and set out a strict, dated, timetable for measures to ensure a free and fair poll. As the old adage says: "Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you".

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From The Star (SA), 2 November

Zanu PF can be sued for political violence

Harare - A United States federal court judge in New York has ruled that Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu PF party can be held liable in US courts for political violence in the southern African country, a lawyer for victims said in a statement on Thursday. Judge Victor Marrero ruled in a 130-page opinion that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was protected from being personally sued because of immunity granted to heads of state, according to a statement received in Harare from attorney Charles Cooper in Washington. But the judge said that Mugabe's Zanu-PF could be held liable for damages and that the president was not immune from being served with the legal complaint because he is also Zanu PF's first secretary, the statement said. The ruling clears the way for US courts to award damages in the lawsuit, which sought $400-million in compensation for victims and their relatives.

Relatives of three Zimbabweans who were killed and a political opponent who claims she was beaten before Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections last year sued Mugabe in a US District Court under the 211-year-old Alien Tort Claims Act. That law gives nationals of other countries the right to file civil suits in US courts for injuries suffered in violation of international law, although it is rare to collect judgments in such cases. No Zimbabwean official has contested the suit, and the government in Harare has denied the case's existence. Several Zimbabwean journalists have been charged with criminal defamation for reporting on the lawsuit. The civil suit alleges that Mugabe and two associates in Zanu PF orchestrated a campaign of violence against opposition parties before last year's elections. Marrero ruled that the plaintiffs' allegations "amply demonstrate that Zanu PF did not consist merely of loosely connected, haphazardly organised individuals or a misguided mob of marauders randomly roving and unleashing terror throughout Zimbabwe." He said evidence presented by the plaintiffs suggested that "Zanu PF worked in tandem with Zimbabwe government officials, under whose direction or control many of the wrongful acts were conceived and executed."

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From IRIN (UN), 1 November

UN assessment team arrives

A United Nations team that is to assess Zimbabwe's land crisis has begun arriving in Harare, an official from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) told IRIN on Thursday. A specialist in land information management arrived at the weekend from FAO headquarters in Rome and is providing technical help to the ministry of lands, said Victoria Sekitoleko, FAO's Regional Representative for Southern and Eastern Africa. "The specialist will begin work on establishing a comprehensive land information resource for the government," Sekitoleko said. She added that the government did not have proper information on land use, ownership and quality and had requested help from FAO to help establish this resource. The specialist is part of a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) assessment mission due in Harare next week. It will be headed by Abdoulie Janneh, Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa. The mission will assess total progress made under the Abuja agreement. The UN assessment mission was called for under a Commonwealth deal signed in Abuja in September. Zimbabwe agreed to curb political violence tied to its land reforms in exchange for British financing of the programme. Part of the deal called for Zimbabwe's government to work more closely with the UNDP on the land issue.

Meanwhile, a joint report by the USAID-backed Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) and the state agricultural department made public on Wednesday predicted worsening food shortages. The report marks a departure in government's attitude to the nation's food situation - it had previously allegedly sought to play down evidence of shortages as the presidential poll to be held early next year approaches. The report said as many as 30 percent of the population in some districts in central, western, southern and arid northern Zimbabwe suffered food shortages during October. It noted that the nation's stocks of grain, the staple food, stood at about 200,355 mt in mid-October, the lowest level in two years, or 63 percent lower than at the same time last year. The report does not conflict with earlier studies that suggest the combined affects of drought, economic collapse, and the government's land reform programme would lead to severe food shortages next year.

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From The Financial Gazette, 1 November

Groups warn of nationwide disobedience

Zimbabwean civic bodies this week said they will call for a national campaign of civil disobedience before the end of the year if the government refuses to embrace conditions that will enable the holding of a free and fair presidential election. Brian Raftopoulos, the chairman of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Committee which groups 250 civic rights organisations, said a document containing the proposals was submitted to the government this week. "We expect the government to ignore these conditions in the way they have ignored civil society’s demands in the past and civil disobedience is the only weapon we have to make them accept our conditions," he told a news conference in Harare.

Conditions presented by the civic bodies include an immediate end to violence, a return to the rule of law, an equitable access to the public media by all political parties and the creation of a genuinely independent electoral commission, which should take charge of the staging of the election and the accreditation of international election observers. The government has in the past opposed these conditions. "There should be a more intensive voter education programme aimed particularly at the population in rural areas," Raftopoulos said. "There should be no attempt by the government to control voter education as is currently proposed. Specific constitutional amendments should be made to guarantee the minimum conditions set out herein as well as to ensure that freedom of choice, movement, association, assembly and expression are strictly adhered to and protected."

He said the committee, which is looking for solutions to Zimbabwe’s economic, constitutional and governance crisis, was prepared to brave a violent response from the government over the mass action. Government spokesman Jonathan Moyo has in the past said the state will "brook no nonsense" from civic groups and that "civic action is illegitimate and mass action will be dealt with ruthlessly". Raftopoulos said: "We would be irresponsible if we did not know the consequences of our actions, but the consequences of not taking action are greater." The Crisis in Zimbabwe Committee includes the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), Transparency International Zimbabwe, the Liberators’ Platform, the Media Institute of Southern Africa, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace and the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. The ZCTU and the NCA earlier this year threatened to stage mass action over the collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy and demands for a new constitution respectively.

Meanwhile Christian Ude, the mayor of Munich, Harare’s German twin city, this week said the residents of Munich "truly welcome all activities of the civic society of Harare to restore democratic conditions". He said residents of Harare, who have been without a city council for two-and-a-half years and some of whom have called for a mass boycott of rate payments as a result, would not be abandoned by Munich "in these politically and economically difficult times".

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From ZWNEWS, 2 November

Mugabe link with Bin Laden?

Those who have been following Zimbabwe's 18-month crisis will be familiar with the aborted listing in June 2000 of a diamond mining company on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM). Oryx Diamonds had been due to float its shares on the AIM, in a deal with linked it with Petra Diamonds, a South African-based mining exploration company, in a bid to raise finance for the exploitation of a Congo diamond mining concession granted - in dubious circumstances - by the then President of the DRC, Laurent Kabila. Oryx Diamonds has very strong links with members of the Zimbabwean military, and senior members of Zanu PF. The listing never went ahead. due to strong protests from groups fighting against the use of "blood-diamonds" to finance Africa's wars, and, it was reported at the time, direct intervention by the British government. BBC TV's Ten O'clock News on 31 October carried a special report on the ongoing international investigations being conducted into the financing of Osama Bin Laden's global network. The report suggested that one of the men involved in this aborted Oryx Diamonds share flotation was a known front-man for Osama Bin Laden's past financial operations. We will bring you a transcript of the programme as soon as we have it available.

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From The Financial Gazette, 1 November

CIO trails Zvobgo

The ruling Zanu PF’s presidential election campaign is in turmoil, with influential party leaders such as Eddison Zvobgo and Dumiso Dabengwa under strict surveillance by the spy Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) on suspicion of trying to sabotage President Robert Mugabe’s re-election, official sources said this week. Government sources said the CIO had placed Zvobgo, Dabengwa and Dzikamai Mavhaire, Zanu PF’s former chairman of fractious Masvingo province, under 24-hour surveillance. The sources said Dabengwa’s "deafening silence" and back-seat approach to party activities in Matabeleland after the June parliamentary election and during the recent mayoral poll was cause for great concern in the Zanu PF leadership.

Apart from mobilising funds for the long-delayed Matabeleland-Zambezi Water Project, the sources said Dabengwa - a member of the party’s powerful Politburo - was not taking his expected leading role to drum up support for Mugabe ahead of the crucial presidential election due by March. The CIO is also investigating the re-emergence of what is known as "South-South" cooperation between senior Zanu PF politicians in the four provinces of Masvingo, the Midlands and the two Matabeleland provinces, the sources said. It is believed the government’s spy agency suspects that some of the leaders of the "South-South" alliance are de-campaigning Mugabe’s candidature and re-election in private meetings and deliberately staying away from important party functions. Zanu PF sources say Zvobgo’s victory rallies in Masvingo have stirred controversy within the party, with some saying his speeches are not meant to support Mugabe but to actually sabotage his campaign. Zvobgo and Mavhaire are also accused of campaigning for opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), a charge both deny. "The differences and signals coming out from among our senior party politicians in Masvingo and Matabeleland are worrying and have a severe negative impact on our presidential election campaign. Their activities have to be checked," a Politburo member told the Financial Gazette this week.

The Masvingo provincial leadership, headed by Higher Education Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi, has since raised its concerns with Vice President Simon Muzenda about Zvobgo’s rallies and the issue could be brought before the Politburo. Mumbengegwi is from a faction led by provincial governor Josiah Hungwe that supports Muzenda and which for years has fought a bitter turf war with Zvobgo and Mavhaire. Zvobgo, the veteran tactician once regarded as Mugabe’s heir, is still believed to be the most popular politician in Masvingo, Zimbabwe’s most populous province and a former Zanu PF stronghold. Seasoned CIO spies have now been assigned to dog Zvobgo at every rally that he addresses or attends in Masvingo. According to the sources, junior CIO officers who were shadowing the former minister have been re-assigned because most of them were unable to write authoritative reports on his speeches at the rallies.

Zvobgo and Mavhaire have been on a road show in the province in the past two months holding what they describe as "victory rallies" to thank supporters who voted for them in the June parliamentary election. Mavhaire lost his seat to the MDC’s Silas Mangono while Zvobgo easily won against that party’s Zachariah Rioga. In Matabeleland, Dabengwa a Zanu PF stalwart and former close confidante of the late vice president Joshua Nkomo - is being accused of also neglecting party affairs. Dabengwa could not be reached for comment this week. The sources say his reluctance to stump for Mugabe has resulted in the emergence of political newcomers such as Jonathan Moyo, Kembo Mohadi, Abednigo Nyathi, Sithembiso Nyoni, Obert Mpofu and Bulawayo provincial chairman Jabulani Sibanda spearheading Mugabe’s difficult re-election campaign in Matabeleland, an MDC powerbase. Zanu PF won only two seats out of 23 in the two Matabeleland provinces during the watershed June plebiscite last year.

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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 31 October

Zimbabwe's farm workers 'disappear'

Harare - with no end in sight to violence on Zimbabwe's white-owned farms, lawyers for farm workers are increasingly worried over the fate of tens of thousands of workers and their families, who have effectively disappeared. Pro-government militants, who have occupied farms for 20 months now, have blocked off huge swaths of the countryside, making it difficult for workers' advocates and aid agencies to count how many people have been displaced by the violence. The only common factor among the estimates is that tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes and jobs on the farms, and no one knows where they have gone.

In the farming community of Hwedza, 100 kilometers southeast of Harare, schools, homes and shops catering for farm workers were deserted. Some homes have been burned, and farmers said the workers became so afraid of the pro-government militants that they decided to pack up and take their chances in the bush. The Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) estimated in a survey of the farms last month that about 75 000 people, including workers and their families, have been forced off the farms where they were previously housed and employed. But workers' advocates put the number far higher. The Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe, which promotes workers' rights, estimates the number of displaced at 300 000, based on the government's own data on resettlement.

The General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), the labour union for farm workers, says the number is more like 800 000, including workers who lost their jobs on farms that closed because of the violence. "Exactly to say how they are surviving, given that these people are not given termination benefits as such, it's a mystery. They are surviving on the generosity of the villagers," GAPWUZ president Clement Sungayi said. "Most of them are just going into the rural areas, or into squatter camps" in the bush, he said. Sungayi said he and other GAPWUZ officials have struggled to track down the displaced workers' whereabouts, but have been blocked from searching the areas near occupied farms by ruling party militants.

"It looks like the war vets (liberation war veterans) have the upper hand when some of these issues come up," he said, referring to the militants who have helped to organise the farm occupations. So far, he said, the government has turned a blind eye to the workers' plight, in part because of the perception that workers and their union back the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). But Sungayi said workers come from all political persuasions. The only time government officials have agreed to meet with representatives of farm workers was at the regional summit here in September, when leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) forced the government to meet with a broad cross-section of Zimbabwean society.

Sungayi and other advocates said the need to find the workers and determine their needs was quickly becoming desperate, as Zimbabwe faces a massive shortage of food grains before the next harvest. "The situation is critical, in that they are not getting food. And if they are not getting wages, they are not going to buy food," said Godfrey Magaramombe, director of the Farm Community Trust. Farmers have set up several initiatives to provide some care for workers affected by the government's land reforms, but CFU officials said those efforts only work if they know where the workers are. "Once they've left the farms, a significant number of them we don't know what has happened to," CFU director David Hasluck said.

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From BBC News, 30 October

Zimbabwe demands respect from EU

Zimbabwe's government has said it is ready to meet European Union demands for discussions on the country's human rights record. But it is continuing to reject a warning from the EU that the country may face sanctions unless it stops intimidating political opponents, and allows European monitors in to observe next year's presidential election. Foreign Affairs Minister Stan Mudenge said Zimbabwe is ready to engage the EU with an open mind but would not be dictated to. "It is important that the international community understands that we are not going to accept the kind of ultimatums like the one we got on the subject of election observers," Mr Mudenge said. "We are a sovereign country, and we are entitled to some respect and we must be treated with respect," he said. The authorities there say that apart from isolated incidents the country was peaceful, with no violence or farm invasions for a long time. EU ministers say President Mugabe has failed to honour a promise he made last month to end the violent occupation of white-owned farms. Ministers meeting in Luxembourg decided to invoke special powers paving the way to sanctions. Zimbabwe will be sent a formal letter demanding that they hold talks with Europe within 15 days. The European Union then has 60 days to decide what action - including possible sanctions - to take.

European ministers said the time had come to act over Mr Mugabe's refusal to let European monitors observe the elections. "We've moved from a benign position with Zimbabwe to one of active engagement," said UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. "We're saying to them: 'We're very concerned about these problems, and we want to have really serious discussions with you'." The ministers are using powers under the Cotonou agreement, which covers relations between the EU and African countries. Their possible economic sanctions against Zimbabwe include the withdrawal of substantial amounts of EU aid. European ministers have been concerned over a number of issues in Zimbabwe, including political violence, free elections and the occupation of mainly white-owned farms by squatters. Last month, Mr Mugabe pledged to end the violent occupation of farms in return for British financial aid for land reform, but there has been concern at the apparent slow pace of progress. The Luxembourg meeting comes immediately after a visit to Zimbabwe by a Commonwealth delegation which called on Harare to investigate alleged violations of human rights.

Information Minister Jonathan Moyo criticised the EU move in the state-run Herald newspaper saying the Commonwealth visit "at the very least, concluded that there were conflicting allegations on the situation in Zimbabwe". "What the EU decision means is they are taking sides against the Zimbabwean Government on conflicting evidence," he said. "You don't reward progress with sanctions ... This will shut the door on the EU's influence on Zimbabwe," Mr Moyo said. Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zanu-PF and the speaker of parliament, told the BBC that it was not acceptable for any country or organisation to set its own terms for coming to observe the election. "Elections in our country can only be observed in terms of our own laws," he told BBC's Network Africa programme.

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COMMUNIQUE

At the invitation of H.E. Dr. Stan Mudenge, Foreign Minister of Zimbabwe, the Committee of Commonwealth Foreign ministers met in Harare, Zimbabwe from 25 to 27 October 2001. The meeting was a follow-up to the Conclusions of the meeting held in Abuja on 6 September 2001. Ministers from Canada, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and the United Kingdom and a Representative of the Minister from Australia, as well as the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth attended the meeting.

2. The Committee, under the chairmanship of H.E. Sule Lamido, Foreign Minister of Nigeria, received a progress report from H.E. Dr. Stan Mudenge and other officials, on the action so far taken by the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) to implement the decisions taken in Abuja on 6 September 2001, including the following:

i. de-listing of a further 20 (twenty) farms; ii. renewed consultations with the UNDP, resulting in an agreement on the visit of a technical team in mid November 2001; iii. establishment of Committees, composed of Ministers, war veterans and farmers, to explain to the people of Zimbabwe the commitments made in Abuja; iv. establishment of a permanent committee for trouble-shooting, charged with responding to incidents and aberrations; v. instructions to the top leadership of all law enforcement and security organs to ensure that Zimbabwe’s commitments are implemented and, where necessary, enforced; vi. commencements of a programme of information involving all agencies implementing land reform, from national to local levels; and vii. commencement of the movement of settlers to legally acquired lands.

3. During its sittings in Zimbabwe, which lasted till 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, 27 October 2001, the Committee received reports from the following groups and organizations:

Council of Chiefs; Commercial Farmers’ Union; Zimbabwe Joint Resettlement Initiative; Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union; Indigenous Commercial Farmers’ Union; UNDP; Zimbabwe Liberation War Veterans Association; Movement for Democratic change (MDC); Zanu PF; Zanu (Ndonga); Church Leaders;

NANGO (National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations):

Amani Trust; Zimbabwe Human Rights Foundation; Affirmative Action Group; National Consultative Assembly; Transparency International; Crisis in Zimbabwe; Indigenous Business Development Centre; National Development Association; Zimbabwe Tobacco Merchants Association;

Media Representatives: - The Daily News; The Herald; The Sunday Mail; The Financial Gazette; Zimbabwe Independent; Zimbabwe Union of Journalists

The Electoral Supervisory Commission

The Law Society of Zimbabwe did not appear before the panel, but submitted a memorandum.

GAPWUZ (General Agricultural and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe) was invited, but was not available when the Committee was ready to hear from them.

These represented a wide range of groups and organisations in Zimbabwe. The views can be summarized as follows:

i. a majority regarded the Abuja Agreement as a useful one that should be pursued; ii. there was a unanimous view that land reform in Zimbabwe is necessary; iii. there was a divergence in the views and facts, in relation to the farm invasions and occupations; iv. there were a number who believed that the rule of law had not been adequately upheld; v. there was confusion over the process of the implementation of land distribution; and vi. there was concern about the displacement of people currently working on farms.

4. The Committee received a number of conflicting reports of alleged violations of human rights and press freedom before and after the Abuja Agreement. It therefore, called upon the law enforcement authorities to look into all these allegations, ensure that the law is obeyed, in order to build the necessary confidence that will ensure the speedy implementation of the Abuja Agreement.

5. Even though the Committee was given free access to all parts of the country, it was only possible, due to time constraints, to visit two farms outside Harare. The objective was to be informed of the situation on the ground in connection with the implementation of land reform programme.

6. Against the background of the short period since the Abuja meeting, the Committee considered that the Government of Zimbabwe had established a process to implement the Abuja Consultations of 6 September 2001, particularly as they relate to land reform. It however, called on the GoZ to speed up, in particular, the de-listing of farms, which do not meet set criteria, and also implement the entire process in accordance with the laws and constitution of Zimbabwe. The Committee also recognised the clear need to develop and implement an information and publicity programme, which will include public meetings to reach all the stakeholders, in order to generate the much-needed confidence that will ensure the success of the initiative.

7. The committee further urged the GoZ, Commercial Farmers’ Union, and other stakeholders, to work co-operatively, and to adopt a positive engagement with each other, in order to get through these difficult implementation issues. In this regard, the Committee noted the positive attitude of the Zimbabwe Joint Resettlement Initiative (ZJRI) as a group that has willingly offered one million hectares of land and resources in order to assist with a comprehensive programme of land redistribution and resettlement that will benefit the optimum number of people.

8. The Committee welcomed the agreement with the UNDP for the visit of a technical team to Zimbabwe mid November 2001. It called on the team to undertake and complete early, the assessment visit, so as to assist the GoZ to fully undertake the land reform programme, on the basis of the UNDP proposals of December 2000. Considering that land is at the core of the crisis, as recognized in the Abuja Conclusions, the Committee reaffirmed the conviction that the work of the UNDP will assist the GoZ to fully comply with the undertakings and assurances freely given under the Abuja initiative. It further called on the GoZ to extend full support and cooperation to the UNDP to ensure the early success of its work.

9. The Committee recognised that this meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe, at the invitation of Foreign Minister Dr. Stan Mudenge, was the second one in the process initiated by President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria. It was therefore appropriate that the Committee presents its report to the President. The Committee would also recommend to President Obasanjo that it (the Committee) remains engaged and continues to monitor the implementation of the Abuja Agreement by all parties.

10. The committee expressed gratitude and appreciation to President Robert Mugabe for receiving members, despite his busy schedule. It also expressed gratitude to Foreign Minister Dr. Stan Mudenge for the kind invitation, which afforded the opportunity for the meeting and lastly, to the Government and people of Zimbabwe, for the hospitality and conducive atmosphere provided for the meeting.

Harare, 27 October 2001

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From The Guardian (UK), 29 October

Zimbabwe mission ends in fudge

Harare - The Commonwealth was accused of giving President Robert Mugabe an easy ride yesterday as it wrapped up its mission to Zimbabwe by avoiding censuring his government for failing to uphold the rule of law and order. In a statement acknowledged by Commonwealth officials to be "diluted", Mr Mugabe was merely urged once again to maintain law and order. No mechanism was established to monitor compliance. However, the international pressure on Harare remains, since the European parliament votes today on whether to impose sanctions on Mr Mugabe and his cabinet.

The British government pledged £36m for land redistribution as part of the Commonwealth agreement reached in Abuja last month. The Zimbabwean government, in return, agreed to maintain the rule of law and the basic principles of democracy. But the seven Commonwealth ministers who visited Zimbabwe saw= compelling evidence that Harare had done little to uphold its promises, according to diplomats attached to the mission. Several of the ministers pressed for a hard-hitting condemnation of the Mugabe government's continuing land seizures, political violence and media repression. But Harare was adamant that it had done little wrong, and fought to blunt every pointed sentence in the final communiqué. Heated arguments raged behind closed doors all day Saturday, the unscheduled third day which had to be added to the mission because of the disagreement. "The meeting to draft the final statement began with a majority of the ministers determined to produce a strong condemnation," a Commonwealth diplomat close to the talks said. "But the Zimbabwean government was defiant and fought us on every point. In the end, because we needed to produce a joint statement, we had to dilute it."

Canada took the hardest line, supported by Britain, and was on the brink of pulling out altogether. The Nigerian foreign minister, Sule Lamido, and Commonwealth secretary general, Don McKinnon, prevailed on the group to compromise. The ministers stood firm in rejecting efforts by Harare to prevent them speaking to government critics. They insisted on being allowed to speak to all interested parties, and stayed all night on Friday to meet 30 groups, including human rights activists and newspaper editors. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office minister for Africa, Lady Amos, said she and all the Commonwealth ministers were "struck by the depth of emotion of those people who told us of human rights violations and repression of the press". "What we would like to encourage is a productive dialogue between the government and these groups. Such a constructive dialogue would have to be based on a rational and logical exchange, not on such emotions".

Although Lady Amos sought a conciliatory result, she was adamant that the British government would not grant the Mugabe government new funds for land redistribution until it was satisfied that the law was being respected. Although no mechanism was set up to monitor the Mugabe government's actions, Lady Amos said a new mission by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to study the land controversy would give an independent and authoritative report. "Any further aid from Britain for land reform would only come after a satisfactory report from the UNDP," she said. Zimbabwean ministers at the talks were smiling broadly as the final communiqué was read out. The state controlled Sunday Mail proclaimed: "Thumbs up for Zim". Others were dejected. "After all that was said to the Commonwealth ministers by groups that are not seeking to be the next government, we had expected a stronger result," John Makumbe, chairman of the Crisis in Zimbabwe committee, said. "They had eyes to see that the Mugabe government is not implementing Abuja and has no intentions of implementing it, because that would cause Mugabe to lose the presidential elections [due by March]. "The Commonwealth has said to Zimbabwean civil society: 'You are on your own.' We will look to other international bodies to apply pressure."

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From The Observer (UK), 28 October

Mugabe hounds anti-racist

Judith Todd, who combated white rule, now faces harrassment from Mugabe's forces as she fights for the freedom of Zimbabwe's press.

Harare - When Judith Todd was arrested last week and taken from her home in Bulawayo to Harare for questioning, she had plenty of time to think during the five-hour drive. And to remember. Todd, 57, is the daughter of Sir Garfield Todd, the 93-year-old former Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia. One of the few whites to align herself with the African nationalist cause, she was repeatedly detained by Ian Smith's government, at one point going on a hunger strike. Last week, after her release from custody in which she had been held along with four other members of the board of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe, she said: "It all felt so similar. The same type of vehicles, police officers sitting on each side of me. The only difference was that back in 1972 the police were all white and now they are all black."

But, as Commonwealth Ministers visited Harare to assess President Robert Mugabe's delivery on his promise to end violent seizures of white-owned farms, she expressed her determination to defend press freedom in a country where it is increasingly under threat. She spoke to The Observer of the company's determination to carry on publishing the massively popular Daily News. Its printing presses were destroyed by bombs in January. Forensic experts say the bombs were created by army explosives experts. She said: "There are many terrible things being done in this country today. I shiver when I read about the atrocities, the beatings, the torture, the killings being carried out." Of her arrest last week, she added: "It is foolish to think the independent press of Zimbabwe could be intimidated by such measures. I am pleased this took place while the mission of Commonwealth Ministers was here. They can see what kind of harassment the independent press faces here on a regular basis."

Todd and four other board members were questioned over a lawsuit pressed by Mutumwa Mawere, a businessman with close ties to Mugabe's Zanu PF party. Mawere is trying to gain control of the Daily News. She was eventually released in Harare last Thursday night but was ordered to report to police the following day and was not returned to her Bulawayo home until Friday evening. She said the Daily News gave the people a "daily injection of the truth". As a result it was "incredibly popular". She continued: "Make no mistake, the Daily News is under a great deal of pressure. The staff receive threats and are intimidated and have been the victims of violence. Everybody at the newspaper is very dedicated: the drivers, the engineers, the delivery people and the vendors. They all are under pressure and they have all shown tremendous dedication to getting the newspaper out. The Daily News editor Geoff Nyarota has won several international awards. With each award everybody gets continuing support and succour to carry on."

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Ministers were expected to censure the Mugabe government for doing little to end the violent seizures of white-owned farms. But the Ministers, who extended their two-day mission by a day until yesterday, differed over the tone to adopt in their final communique against a government that says it has been doing nothing wrong, diplomats said. "I think by and large there is a consensus on the fact that the government of Zimbabwe has so far not done much to fulfil its obligations under the Abuja agreement, but the hurdle is on how this should be recorded while at the same time encouraging the Zimbabwean authorities to be more co-operative," one African diplomat said. Seven weeks ago in Abuja, Nigeria, Zimbabwe agreed to end 20 months of invasions of white-owned farms by black people, in return for financial help from the former colonial power, Britain, to create a just land reform programme. Conference sources said the Commonwealth team - in meetings with farming, Church, civic and opposition groups on Thursday and Friday had left the government isolated in its assertion it was working to end the land crisis. "What has emerged is that the government of Zimbabwe has a different interpretation from the majority on what is going on on the ground and it would be ideal to get a strong statement out," one source said.

John Makumbe, a political analyst and one of Mugabe's leading critics, said the Commonwealth must make no apologies in its assessment. "The truth is the Abuja agreement has not worked and the government has no intention of making it work and you cannot go soft in that regard," he said yesterday, after a group of human rights activists met the Commonwealth team. On Friday, Canada's Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa, David Kilgour, told reporters the visiting Ministers believed the Zimbabwe government had done little to honour the Abuja agreement. "It's my view, and I think the view of a number of other Ministers here, that there's been virtually no progress on any of the areas that the government of Zimbabwe agreed to move on," Kilgour said. In a deal that was brokered by Nigeria and overseen by the Commonwealth - which groups Britain and its former dominions and colonies - Mugabe's government agreed to put an end to the land seizures by self-styled veterans of the 1970s war against white rule. Critics accuse Mugabe of using the land issue to fend off a challenge to his rule at the presidential election that is due by April next year, while his ruling Zanu-PF party continues to accuse Britain of meddling in its affairs.

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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 26 October

Commonwealth team rejects attempt to restrict enquiry

The visiting Commonwealth team of ministers yesterday foiled an official attempt to restrict the scope of their inquiry by foisting on them groups aligned to government while excluding genuine civic organisations. Diplomatic sources said government tried to limit those seeing the team, led by Nigerian Foreign minister Sule Olamido, to six groups. These were the Council of Chiefs, Zimbabwe Farmers Union, Indigenous Commercial Farmers Union, Zimbabwe Joint Resettlement Initiative, Commercial Farmers Union, and the parliamentary select committee on land. But the visitors, here to follow up progress on the Abuja accord, protested that they did not want to be restricted to the government list and would be happy to see any civil society group that was prepared to meet them.

"The government is trying to whitewash this," a Commonwealth diplomat said. "This is not a group of gullible people. They want to be fully informed by all sectors of Zimbabwean society and have therefore rejected this rather one-sided list." Diplomats were surprised when NGOs they had suggested did not find their way onto the list. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which was not on the original official list, is expected to meet the team today. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his foreign affairs spokesman, Tendai Biti will make their presentations.

Opening their meeting yesterday Foreign Affairs minister Stan Mudenge attempted to set the agenda for the team which includes ministers from Britain, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Nigeria, Jamaica, and Kenya. He claimed the team was here to "reconcile differences between Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom" and facilitate the implementation of land reform. Despite energetic attempts by government to limit the Commonwealth’s focus to land, the club wants to look at issues of governance and compliance with the Harare Declaration, as set out in the Abuja agreement. The visiting group, which includes Commonwealth secretary-general Don McKinnon, kicked off its schedule yesterday morning by meeting President Mugabe and his two deputies, Simon Muzenda and Joseph Msika, at State House. After that it moved to a local hotel where it heard testimony from civic groups and government supporters.

Mudenge opened the session by making a number of claims to show government was complying with the Abuja accord. "You may be aware that, as our contribution to the success of the initiative, we delisted some 581 farms that did not meet our criteria just before Abuja," he said. "Since Abuja, we have delisted a further 20 such farms. This information was published in the Government Gazette of September 28. Immediately following Abuja, I triggered the process of consultation between Zimbabwe and the UNDP through calls I made to the UN secretary-general (Kofi Annan) and Jack Straw (British foreign secretary)," Mudenge said. "Subsequently, Mark Malloch Brown, the administrator of the UNDP, wrote to me. I have since replied, and we expect a UNDP technical team around the 29th of this month." UNDP officials yesterday said they expected the team to assess the land reform situation in Zimbabwe from November 5.

Mudenge also said cabinet as well as the ruling Zanu PF met after Abuja to consider and adopt the agreement. He said committees were set up to implement the accord. The Abuja accord, signed in the Nigerian capital on September 6, demanded Harare should address specific issues: end fresh land invasions, remove illegal occupiers, restore the rule of law, stop violence, uphold human rights and democratic values, and embark on a just and fair land reform programme. Civic organisations, including the CFU, have said new land occupations, violence, and other forms of violations of the Abuja agreement persisted despite government claims of compliance.

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From The Daily Telegraph (UK), 27 October

Mugabe behind farm violence, diplomats told

An attempt by President Robert Mugabe's government to stage-manage a Commonwealth tour of Zimbabwe's farms backfired yesterday when delegates heard graphic accounts of state-sponsored violence across the once buoyant rural sector. At one property the delegates heard first hand how white-owned farms continued to be invaded by so-called war veterans loyal to Mr Mugabe after the accord signed in Abuja last month when Zimbabwe agreed to stop all invasions. A visit to a second farm, which the government had thought would project a favourable image, was marred by accusations that the farmer had been threatened by government officials not to tell the truth about how he lost his land.

At one point angry words were exchanged between government minders and a Canadian member of the delegation after he was blocked from talking to a group of white farmers not on the official tour itinerary. Diplomats said there was "unease" and "clear polarisation" between Zimbabwean officials and white farmers. "We know what the Zimbabwean government wanted them to hear but they were left in no doubt the Abuja agreement had been violated," one Western diplomat said. The delegation delayed its departure from Zimbabwe by 12 hours until this morning after lengthy postponements in meetings called with lawyers, churchmen, journalists and other representatives of civil society. It is expected that a final communiqué from the group will condemn Zimbabwe for failing to live up to the undertakings made in Abuja.

But Western diplomats said it would be counter-productive to declare the Abuja agreement completely dead as it served the useful diplomatic purpose of at least keeping international attention focused on Zimbabwe. At the first farm visited by the delegation it was alleged that the owner, Jannie Erasmus, had been instructed to say that he had voluntarily conceded his property for resettlement. Instead he told of 18 months of horror and trauma suffered by himself, his workers, and his herd of pedigree cattle. Mr Erasmus's farm had been chosen for the Commonwealth visit because he had decided that he could no longer continue farming. A local government official visited him the day before the visit and warned him not to speak out, according to another farmer, Japie Jackson.

The seven Commonwealth ministers and officials flew to Bita Farm to hear first hand evidence of contraventions of the agreement. Pete Bibby, 36, said he had conceded one of his two farms for resettlement, and wanted to continue growing crops with his father John, 70, on Bita. He told the group that a week after the agreement was hailed as a way forward on the Zimbabwe crisis, about 50 government supporters arrived on the farm at night and became involved in a fight with his workers and peasant farmers. In the confrontation, two government supporters fell off their vehicle and were run over, allegedly by their comrades. His father, who was not present at the time of the incident, was arrested and charged with murder and incitement to violence. More than 60 farm workers were also arrested, and are awaiting trial. The chairman of the delegation, Sule Lamido, Nigeria's foreign minister, wanted to hear the views of the farm workers at Bita. But none was available to be asked. European Union foreign ministers will meet on Monday to discuss Zimbabwe. The issue of possible EU sanctions is expected to top the agenda.

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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 26 October

Zanu PF arms war vets, reignites terror

The ruling Zanu PF party, in cahoots with war veterans, has launched a reign of terror in the Midlands that has witnessed the closure of schools with teachers fleeing for their lives. Scores of armed war veterans were busy this week conducting rallies at schools and business centres in the province. School children have been abducted and forced to attend the rallies, missing lessons while the "O" and "A" level end-of-year examinations are in progress. Some of the war veterans are reported to have claimed that they left school to join the liberation struggle and there was nothing special about school children leaving school to attend their rallies. Gabriel Shumba, a human rights lawyer working with the Amani Trust - a body that attends to victims of political violence - told the Independent that he had handled several cases of political beatings, the majority being secondary school teachers. Many had now deserted their schools and gone into nearby Gweru and Zvishavane for refuge. In Mberengwa, Zanu PF has launched a crackdown on suspected Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters. Secondary school teachers and students have of late been forced to attend rallies and chant Zanu PF slogans with the most affected areas being Vutika, Mupandashango, Danga, Mataga, Mnene, Vutsanana and Rengwe.

A teacher who declined to be named told the Independent that the notorious architect of terror in Mberengwa, Biggie Chitoro’s colleagues were continuing where Chitoro left off. Some of his armed henchmen include Divine Chitoro, his younger brother, and Nyasha Koke. Koke hails from Rengwe and is still on bail after being charged with being an accomplice in political violence and murder. "They (Koke and Chitoro) are armed and the police are not doing anything," the teacher said. "Many teachers have fled the on-going violence and there are no normal lessons going on at Vutika secondary school," he said. Teachers identified as V Moyo, Marufu, Gumbo, and headmaster Hove, whose property was burnt last year by war veterans, have left the school. At the school a war veteran and teacher, Walter Mucheregwa, was singled out as terrorising MDC supporters and issuing political threats of victimisation to fellow teachers he suspected had links with the MDC. "Mucheregwa is a war veteran and targets any teacher suspected to have links with the MDC," the teacher said. The teacher added that Zanu PF supporters thought of Chitoro as a hero and some youths now wanted to take over from where he left off. "A Zanu PF councillor in Rengwe - identified only as Mhike - was allegedly masterminding the terror in Mberengwa.

In Gokwe in the Midlands, the situation had reportedly got out of hand. Seven schools have been closed while scores of teachers have fled. Shumba said he had received cases of six teachers that were squatting in Gweru after having abandoned their belongings at their respective schools fleeing violence. The affected schools are Tenda secondary, Zhomba primary and two other schools in Sanyati, near Kadoma. "War veterans are abducting school children and taking them to their bases around Gokwe," Shumba said. "As we speak seven schools have been closed. We have interviewed some of the victims who confessed that the number of students attending lessons has declined. Students are being taught politics of land and Zanu PF," he said. Shumba said the perpetrators of violence were armed and the police were not doing anything about it. "What is the logic behind giving a war veteran, whose life is not under threat from anyone, and a village headman a firearm?" he asked. "Where did they get the firearm licences from? It is just strange and it now appears that the police are aiding and abetting the crisis situation in Gokwe," he said. One of the headmen in Gokwe, Mabasa Munotengwa, was reportedly armed and terrorising people. "Any reasonable person in a civilised country would find it nauseating that politicians would stoop so low," Shumba said. "That some people are being allowed to unleash such untold suffering amongst innocent civilians is just politically wrong and immoral. They are raping some of the school children. They ask them to chant Zanu PF slogans. What kind of a society is it that condones such activities?" Shumba said. Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said he was "busy" and was going to attend to the Independent inquiries later.

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From News24 (SA), 25 October

New economy ideas 'a disaster'

Harare A top Zimbabwean industrialist on Wednesday said the government's latest economic stance touted as an alternative to market reforms was a disaster. Zed Rusike, the immediate past president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) and a member of the national council of the CZI said: "The government has said 'we the ruling party want to stay in power'. We will take all measures necessary for us to stay in power." Rusike told a business seminar that the ruling Zanu-PF has run out of ideas and might not be able to pull the economy out of the current mess. "To suggest that we do away with market reforms because we have no fresh ideas is tantamount to throwing away the baby with the bathwater. We seem to want to reinvent the wheel. Socialism failed in terms of economic policy. Sooner or later we will have to revise our ideas. Markets are ideal for resource allocation."

Recently the government re-introduced price controls on basic commodities and announced a return to a command, socialist economy. The controls have led to widespread shortages of bread, soap and other basics. For example, the government decreed that bread be sold at $44 a loaf when it costs $54 to make. Bakers are refusing to continuing making and selling the bread. Rusike dismissed government attacks on hoarding of goods whose price has been curbed, saying under current circumstances it was the sensible thing to do. "If I was a producer of products such as bread, cooking oil and sugar, I would keep my product in the warehouse until I could sell it at a profit. I would not sell at below cost. It doesn't make sense to do so," he said.

Rusike made the remarks at a CZI seminar sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation on price controls. He said: "The CZI has never agreed to and will never agree to price controls. We believe that they are a short-term measure. Hopefully sooner or later sanity will prevail. Unfortunately it has not prevailed yet." In 1990, when we made the decision to embrace market reforms, we knew it was going to be hard, having to forgo the system that we had become accustomed to, which had been put in place by the colonial regime. Little did we know that 10 years down the road, we would come face to face with the same animal once more." Rusike lambasted President Robert Mugabe's call for a return to socialism. "The issue of price controls brings back the memory of the days of socialism, a failed policy in terms of economic development of the world. No nation is an island and sooner or later we will have to revise our ideas in favour of ideas that are universally shared across the world."

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Confederation of Tanzania Industries, Arnold Kilewo, said: "The economics of socialism failed in terms of economic production. It had good principles related to its philosophy of human development but in terms of economic management a state controlled system failed. We have tested it and we say you better not." Under former president Julius Nyerere, Tanzania embraced socialism and later abandoned it. Mugabe has warned that businesses which resisted his economic plans such as price controls would be nationalised. "If you look at what happened to my country I would say don't try it. We are back to a private sector economy and we are registering a lot of successes. We in Tanzania are looking forward to dynamic economic development," said Kilewo. The UNDP resident representative, Victor Angelo, said that despite Mugabe's assertions of a return to socialism, he did not believe that the country was now abandoning private enterprise. "I don't think we are moving towards a command economy in Zimbabwe. I think the private sector has played and will continue to play an important role in this country. I think the private sector is still the key engine of economic growth and job creation in Zimbabwe and whatever can be done to promote its growth should be done" he said.

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