From The Zimbabwe Independent, 6 July

Chinamasa concedes breach of law

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Patrick Chinamasa this week conceded breaching the law when he postponed council elections in Bulawayo, the Zimbabwe Independent understands. Representing Chinamasa and Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede, Michael Majuru of the Attorney-General’s Office this week consented to Justice Kennedy Sibanda granting an order declaring invalid, null and void Chinamasa’s general notice postponing the Bulawayo mayoral and council elections which had been set for June 23/24. Majuru’s consent followed an initial court application brought by the MDC’s mayoral candidate, Japhet Ndabeni Ncube, and the opposition party itself challenging Chinamasa’s move to postpone the elections.

Chinamasa had until July 3 to show cause why the provisional order should not be made final. This week Chinamasa consented to the nullification of his General Notice 291 B confirming that it was wrongly issued. Avoiding further litigation which could have followed had he shown cause why Justice Sibanda’s provisional order should not be made final, Chimanasa gazetted dates for the nomination and election of mayor and councillors. This is something he should have done in the first place as laid down in the Electoral Amendment Act. Chinamasa has since set September 8/9 as the election dates for the Bulawayo executive mayor and seven ward councillors.

In the order handed down on Tuesday at the High Court in Bulawayo, Chinamasa is cited as first respondent and Registrar-General, Tobaiwa Mudede the second respondent. In a meeting in chambers where Ndabeni Ncube was represented by Josephat Tshuma and Chinamasa and Mudede by Majuru, Justice Sibanda confirmed the order that the indefinite postponement was invalid, null and void with the consent of both parties. In the same order, Mudede was directed to publish the nomination dates and the election dates in terms of section 103L of the Electoral Amendment Act 21 of 1997. As the jostling for Bulawayo’s second executive mayorship intensifies, the ruling Zanu PF has nominated Bulawayo’s director of engineering services, George Mlilo, as candidate to fight it out with Ncube. Zapu, led by Agrippa Madlela, has nominated management consultant Malobele Smith Mbedzi as its candidate.

From The Sunday Times (SA), 8 July

Hitler's widow appeals to Mugabe

The Polish widow of Chenjerai Hitler Hunzvi, the Zimbabwean war veterans' leader, has begged President Robert Mugabe to help care for Hunzvi's two sons. Wieslawa Hunzvi, who lives in Poland, made the plea after the death last month of the man who led the country's land invasions. In a letter she asked, as Hunzvi's "only legal wife", for financial support for her sons Andrew Runhare, 16, and Ngoni Hunzvi, 14. Wieslawa's plea follows her revelations to the Sunday Times last year about how she suffered at the hands of Hunzvi. The 48-year-old widow claimed then that Hunzvi, whom she married as a young medical student in Warsaw in 1984, beat her and humiliated her with his affairs and lack of support for his sons. She recorded her story of how she fled this "powerful, treacherous and unpredictable" man in a sensational book, White Slave, published in Poland in 1993.

Now Wieslawa, who last had contact with Hunzvi in 1995, has appealed to Mugabe for help."Hunzvi as your henchman was fighting for the economic liberation of Zimbabwe. They [his sons] have a right to have support from their father, former member of Zimbabwean Parliament," she said in the letter. In an telephone interview from Warsaw this week, Wieslawa said she told her sons of their father's death after reading about it in a local newspaper. Although she fled Zimbabwe and returned to Poland in 1992, the two were not divorced. Wieslawa said she approached Mugabe after learning there were no legal ties between Zimbabwe and Poland that would give her sons access to any inheritance. Since sending the letter, she said, the Zimbabwean Department of Foreign Affairs had asked for relevant documentation.

From The Independent (UK), 7 July

Mugabe to take over all farms as food runs out

President Robert Mugabe's government yesterday signalled its desire to nationalise all commercial farmland in Zimbabwe, targeting a further 529 properties for peasant resettlement, but admitted for the first time that the country is running out of food. The Finance Minister, Simba Makoni, said Zimbabwe would need foreign aid to feed its 12 million people, a week after warnings of maize and wheat shortages from American analysts were rejected by another minister.

In the past few weeks, the government has listed 2,500 mainly white-owned farms for resettlement, bringing the total number of earmarked properties to 5,500. It has repented on a small number, including eight belonging to the powerful South African Oppenheimer family. Tim Henwood, president of the Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU), said it was unclear what the government's objective was. "The government is sending conflicting signals. We are still analysing the new list but as far as we can tell pretty much everything has now been listed."

Mr Makoni said: "Our budget does not allow for food purchases. The government has had contacts with key members of the international community to indicate that we will be short." Zimbabwe has descended into a crisis after adapting badly to free-market reforms of recent years and 77-year-old President Mugabe's bid to deliver land to most of the country's black peasants. There is little evidence of the 104,000 families the ruling Zanu PF claims to have settled on 3.5 million hectares (8.6 million acres). Instead there has been widespread violence in the cities.

From The Daily Telegraph (UK), 7 July

Food plea by Mugabe critics

Johannesburg - Food aid for Zimbabwe should be channelled through international humanitarian agencies rather than the government, the country's opposition said yesterday. It made its appeal after President Mugabe's government finally admitted shortages. Aid should not be entrusted to the government because it would be used for political purposes, the Movement for Democratic Change said. It said Mr Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party had repeatedly claimed that it was providing resources that had in fact come from external sources.

Zimbabwe has consistently denied that there is a shortage of food, despite considerable damage caused to agricultural production by the forced occupation of white-owned farms. The first admission was made by Simba Makoni, the Finance Minister, who said there would be a serious shortfall of about 600,000 tons of maize this year. Normally Zimbabwe is self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs. He said: "That there will be shortages in national food production is confirmed. The uncertainty is the magnitude."

Mr Makoni was confident that in spite of Zimbabwe's recent diplomatic differences of opinion with other countries caused by the illegal farm seizures, humanitarian concerns would lead to generous international support. He said: "Notwithstanding the factors influencing our relations with other countries, when human lives are involved I would hope that we can find common cause to mitigate it. I am very concerned - so are other leaders - because our budget has not provided for food imports." Agriculture officials said that almost all the country's 6,000 white-owned farms had now been listed for nationalisation. The nationalisation of farms has caused great damage to the economy, as the white-owned farms are among the most successful. In almost all cases, their efficiency has tended to fall away after the takeovers.

From The Zimbabwe Independent, 6 July

Zanu PF intensifies terror campaign

Mashonaland Central governor Elliot Manyika’s terror campaign has intensified in Bindura with the ruling party setting up bases throughout the constituency in an effort to eliminate opposition before the July 21/22 by-election to fill the post left vacant by the late Border Gezi. Reports reaching the Zimbabwe Independent say Zanu PF has set up bases at Kitsiyatota, Chiveso, Murembe, Mupandira, Maizeland Farm, Foothill Farm and Nyawa business centre. These are used as torture centres for captured opposition supporters. The bases also house war veterans and youths who use them as launching pads for raids on opposition supporters.

Even the police are not allowed to enter the bases, the reports say. Thirteen people reported missing are believed to have been captured and are being held hostage at the various bases. Speaking to the Independent, some of the victims said the level of violence in Bindura is increasing every day. Visiting shopping areas has become dangerous because one can be attacked at any time. On Thursday last week, war veterans and Zanu PF youths attacked Uronga Primary School and severely beat up six teachers including the headmaster, forcing the school to close for three days.

On the same day, Tadius Motsi Hongoro (62), a Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) village chairman for Chiveso was attacked by more than 15 youths at his home. "They attacked me together with my wife, demanding that we surrender our party cards and T-shirts. They also accused me of possessing arms of war," Hongoro said. "They beat me under the feet with baton sticks and planks - which had protruding sharp nails - and all over the body until I became unconscious," said Hongoro who was in great pain but recovering at Parirenyatwa Hospital.

Hongoro said he had deserted his home in fear of his life. "My property and livestock have no-one to look after them because of Manyika’s terror. But let me assure you that beating me will not change my political stance. People will not accept anyone who beats them, they can only pretend as if they will rally behind you when you are present," he said. "For your own information, there are no more Zanu PF supporters in Bindura. Many have defected but they will not publicly say it for fear of the terror. The only Zanu PF supporters left are the squatters on the neighbouring farms," Hongoro said.

On Sunday an MDC national youth executive member Philip Mabika (26) was attacked at his home soon after arriving from a rally. "They came in two twin-cab trucks and attacked me using broken bottles to cut my hands and baton sticks to assault me all over," Mabika said, showing his heavily-bandaged hands which needed 14 stitches at Chachivile Clinic. "They wanted to take me to Kitsiyatota base but I managed to escape, jumping several walls until I get to Chiwaridzo police post. The policeman on duty had to cock his gun to prevent them from overrunning the post to get me," he said. The gangs which are going around terrorising people are reportedly being led by Itai Dick Mafios who is vice-chairman of Pfura Rural District Council, and Jack Salim, a hardened criminal in the area who has 14 pending cases of assault and robbery and is on the police wanted list.

From ZWNEWS, 6 July

MDC Treasurer arrested

In the second incident in a renewed round of police harassment, the MDC Provincial offices in Bulawayo were raided on Friday morning. The MDC offices in Harare were raided on Thursday by riot police "looking for hostages". Led by Detective Assistant Inspector Matira - notorious in Bulawayo as being a "political policeman" - the police arrested Fletcher Dhulini Ncube, the MDC Treasurer, on charges of theft, robbery, and grievous bodily harm.

The charges apparently stem back to the incidents in May in which an MDC MP, Abedenico Bhebe, and an MDC candidate in a district council election, Joel Sithole, were the subject of abductions and murder attempts. These two incidents had brought about heightened tension in the Nkayi area, and on 11 June, ten MDC supporters were also abducted by war veterans. The abduction of the group was reported to the police, who refused to respond, although the whereabouts of the men and their kidnappers was known. On 13 June, a group of MDC supporters went to rescue this group, travelling in a ten-ton truck belonging to the MDC. In the course of the rescue, several war veterans were beaten up. It is thought that Ncube was arrested because the truck is registered in his name, as MDC Treasurer.

Bulawayo MP David Coltart, who was at the Provincial offices when the raid took place, said : "Once again, the law is being selectively applied. The MDC Treasurer is arrested, but the abductors of the ten, and of Abedenico Bhebe and Joel Sithole, walk free. The kidnappers of Patrick Nabanyama – who went missing over a year ago – have also not been brought to trial." Coltart was also threatened with arrest. The police took the truck, and Ncube was later released without the charges being pressed further. It is thought that the confiscation of the truck may also have been due to plans for it to be used in the Memorial march and prayer service for Patrick Nabanyama to be held in Bulawayo on Saturday 7 July.

From News24 (SA), 6 July

Zanu-PF leadership split?

Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's unexpected restraint during a national strike has fuelled speculation that his government is divided on how to deal with its political opponents, analysts said on Thursday. They say the ruling Zanu-PF party leadership is split between partisans of the "fist and knobkerrie" tactics used in parliamentary elections last year, and others who back a softer strategy to ease growing diplomatic pressure on Harare ahead of a presidential vote next year. Riot police were deployed to maintain law and order on Tuesday and Wednesday during a strike called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) to protest against soaring fuel prices. The government had declared the strike illegal and a challenge to its authority, but police did not crackdown on strikers as they have done in previous labour actions. "I don't think Mugabe's slight restraint is a case of a new political conviction. I think what we saw here was a new crisis over a campaign strategy for the presidential elections," said political analyst Masipula Sithole.

Sithole said the party leadership was split between the hawks who favour last year's violent campaign on the opposition, and doves who believe the party "will not win by wielding the stick and using the fist and knobkerrie". The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) blamed last year's election violence on Zanu-PF militants, led by veterans of the liberation war against white-ruled Rhodesia. Zanu-PF barely defeated the MDC last year and Mugabe faces a stiff challenge in 2002 from its leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is a former trade unionist.

Chenjerai Hove, a leading political commentator, said a change of strategy in Zanu-PF would take time to implement. "I don't think they know exactly what to do at this stage. There are two major groups in the party with very strong beliefs, one advocating violence and another saying violence is proving counter-productive," he said. With the government refusing to reverse the nearly 70 percent hike in fuel prices, the ZCTU is under pressure from some of its members to continue the strike. The labour group said more than 80 percent of the country's businesses and factories were closed during the strike, and 95 percent of the country's 1.2 million workers stayed home.

"The ZCTU must be happy that it demonstrated its power...and support, and to have scored a big psychological blow for its allies," Sithole said. The ZCTU has organised a number of strikes over pay, taxes and higher food prices in the past four years, and enjoys the support of most of Zimbabwe's workers. In May, self-styled war veterans marched through here to accuse labour unions of sacrificing workers' jobs and backing opposition to Mugabe. At the time analysts said the veterans' strategy, which included attacks on businesses with unionised employees, was aimed at winning workers' votes ahead of the presidential poll.

Zimbabwe's state-owned Herald newspaper on Thursday urged the ZCTU to talk to the government about its grievances, saying the labour movement had a role to play in resolving the country's problems. "The work of good trade unionists is not to barricade themselves in offices and issue ultimatums," the newspaper said in an editorial. Matombo said he was open to talks with the government, but he added: "The government sees us as a rival and probably has no answers for the bread-and-butter issues we are raising". The fuel price hikes have forced bus and taxi fares higher at a time when Zimbabweans are facing record high unemployment levels and eroding wages. Zimbabwe's economy, once among the strongest in southern Africa, is struggling through its worst crisis since independence from Britain in 1980. A controversial government programme to seize white-owned farms for black resettlement has scared away foreign investment and prompted Western nations to suspend aid.

From The Independent (UK), 6 July

Blair warns Mugabe on Zimbabwe democracy

Harare/London - Tony Blair has personally warned President Robert Mugabe that he wants to see a stable and democratic Zimbabwe. The firm message was contained in a letter Mr Blair wrote to Mr Mugabe this week in reply to a letter from the Zimbabwean President congratulating him on his re-election as Prime Minister. Mr Mugabe had asked Mr Blair to use his re-election as an opportunity to reopen dialogue with Zimbabwe to resolve the differences between the two countries. And while the Prime Minister replied that he also hoped for "good relations" he suggested that he would not compromise British demands for free and fair elections and a stable economy. Britain has been frustrated by the economic turmoil in Zimbabwe and Mr Mugabe's failure to halt the intimidation of white-owned farms by his supporters.

Mr Blair wrote that he hoped future relations would be favourable between the two countries. He said in his letter, a copy of which has been shown to The Independent by other sources: "I share your desire for good relations between our two countries. Like you, I want to see a stable, prosperous and democratic Zimbabwe. We stand ready to play our part in helping Zimbabwe achieve these goals, as successive British governments have done since independence." Relations between Britain and its former colony reached a low point last year when Mr Mugabe's militant war veteran supporters launched a campaign to invade and occupy white-owned farms.

From News24 (SA), 5 July

Police raid MDC offices

Harare - Police raided the offices of Zimbabwe's main opposition party on Thursday without a warrant, claiming they were searching for hostages, party officials said. At least 15 armed riot police, plus additional plainclothes officers, arrived at the offices of the MDC around 15:40 and began searching the office, MDC spokesperson Learnmore Jongwe said. The police remained in the office for about 90 minutes, with another truck of police stationed outside, and took the personal details of everyone there, Jongwe said.

"The official and unreasonable excuse they gave is that they were searching for hostages," Jongwe said. He said the police did not have a search warrant, which "makes this whole adventure illegal," Jongwe said. "This is not the first time they have done it, and it certainly won't be the last," he added. Police declined to say why they were at the offices, saying only that they were on duty. MDC has posed the first ever significant challenge to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's 21-year rule, winning nearly half the seats in last year's parliamentary elections. Police have raided the MDC's office several times during the last year. Their offices also suffered a grenade attack last year.

From ZWNEWS, 6 July

US Civil Suit – The Plaintiffs' Surreply

Yet another chapter in the ongoing saga of the court case against President Mugabe, Stan Mudenge and others in the United States

On a trip to New York last year, Mugabe, and Mudenge were served with a Complaint, detailing charges against them by the relatives of people killed by Zanu PF supporters in the run-up to the 2000 parliamentary elections. The Zimbabwe government then requested that the US government submit to the US Federal District Court a Suggestion of Immunity, arguing that as head-of-state, and foreign minister, they were not liable to be sued in the United States. This Suggestion of Immunity was submitted to the court by the US State Department. Attorneys for the Plaintiffs then submitted an Argument against Immunity, giving Plaintiffs’ reasons as to why the court should not defer to the State Department’s Suggestion of Immunity.

At the beginning of June 2001, attorneys for the State Department replied to the Plaintiffs’ Argument against Immunity with an Argument for Immunity, detailing the US State Department’s reasons for the court to grant immunity to Mugabe and Mudenge and dismiss the Complaint against them. The Plaintiffs have subsequently submitted to the court a "Surreply Brief", in answer to the State Department's Argument for Immunity.

If you would like us to email you a copy of this "Surreply", please let us know. The "Surreply" is 105 Kb in size – i.e. roughly twice the size of the average daily ZWNEWS - and will be sent in the form of a Word document as an attachment to an email message. It can also be read on our website – www.zwnews.com – as can the original "Complaint", the "Argument against Immunity", and the "Argument for Immunity", in the Rule of Law section under Reports.

From The Guardian (UK), 5 July

West will monitor Mugabe re-election

Harare - The Zimbabwean opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, said yesterday he had secured pledges from Britain, Europe and the US to provide independent observers for next year's presidential election, when he will stand against Robert Mugabe. With seven parliamentary by-elections pending, Mr Tsvangirai is anxious for foreign monitors to be present in the coming months to prevent the intimidation of voters. There were widespread complaints of fraud and violence during last year's parliamentary elections.

The diplomatic offensive by the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has coincided with a two-day general strike by an estimated 3m Zimbabweans in protest at the government's recent 70% increase in fuel prices. Speaking in London yesterday, Mr Tsvangirai repeatedly distanced the MDC from direct involvement in the strike, but commented: "Increasing petrol prices [so much] has been suicidal. It's completely insensitive. If they are going to adjust the prices they should do it in a way people can still afford fuel."

In the past week Mr Tsvangirai has been received at the state department in Washington, by the new British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, and by three EU commissioners: Chris Patten, Neil Kinnock and Poul Nielsen. "Whereas before people were prepared to listen to the MDC but regard it as a protest movement, now there's acceptance of the MDC as a political party," said Mr Tsvangirai. Late last month the EU set a two-month deadline for Mr Mugabe to end Zimbabwe's political violence and interference with the independence of the judiciary, and guarantee freedom of speech.

Industry and commerce remained largely closed on the second day of the national strike, which was called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions as a protest against economic mismanagement. Although the anti-government strike was peaceful, local residents reported that army units had beaten people in Chitungwiza, Budiriro and Dzivarasekwa. The government stepped up its campaign yesterday to portray the strike as a failure. The state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation described the strike as unsuccessful and the work of foreign agents. The government-controlled Herald newspaper said that thousands of workers tried to go to their jobs but were locked out by white factory owners trying to sabotage the government.

From News24 (SA), 4 July

Zim sacks grain body

Harare - The Zimbabwe government on Tuesday sacked the governing body of the country's Grain Marketing Board (GMB) in a bid to ensure food security, Lands and Agricultural Minister Joseph Made said on Tuesday. Made said the move was to allow the government to be directly involved in the operations of the parastatal which is responsible for marketing food grains in the country. The dismissal comes in the wake of reports of food shortages, which the government has vehemently denied.

"Due to the strategic importance of GMB in terms of food security for the nation, it is imperative that decisions regarding its operations are implemented expeditiously and effectively in the interests of the people," Made told a news conference. Made said some sections of the Zimbabwean society were creating artificial shortages of food in the country. "I am aware that there are a number of people who are involved in activities ... meant to create an aspect of shortages," he said. But he said he would move to apply measures that would ensure that "maize is secure for the good of the economy as this a staple".

The board was appointed in June last year and its term was to expire in July 2003. "It has been found necessary to bring forward the expiry date of the current board of directors of GMB," he announced. But he stressed that sacking of the directors was not an indication of problems or looming shortages. "I do emphasise that this exercise has to do more with our strategic needs, it's not the other way round of saying what is the problem," Made said.

Comment from The Guardian (UK), 5 July

Power to the workers

Mugabe faces a popular revolt

President Robert Mugabe's government declared this week's general strike called by Zimbabwe's trade unions illegal. That the vast majority of the country's 1.2m employed workers bravely chose to ignore the ban suggests that it is Zanu PF's choking grip on Zimbabwe that lacks legitimacy. The intimidatory threats issued by the despised "war veterans", who have turned their attention in recent months from white-owned farms to factories and businesses, were also ignored. Mr Mugabe's thugs would no doubt like to provoke the sort of violence with which they have been associated in the past. And as before, the security forces have tried to prevent free and fair reporting. That very little violence has so far occurred is vastly to the credit of Zimbabwe's citizens, not to a government that is now in a virtual state of war with its own people.

Mr Mugabe was right about one thing this week: this mass action is not just about the recent 70% rises in fuel prices, or the resulting inflationary impact on the cost of basic foodstuffs. It is not simply about an economy broken almost beyond repair, about schools without resources and hospitals without medicines. Nor is it only about corruption in high places, about the assaults on an independent judiciary, about the government's contempt for the rule of law. Mr Mugabe said the strike was, at heart, political. And he is correct. It represents an enormous challenge to his own continued tenure as president. And more than that, it challenges the power monopoly enjoyed by Zanu PF since independence over 20 years ago.

If last year's general elections had been properly conducted, the ruling party might already be out of office. By his egregious conduct then and since, Mr Mugabe has gone a long way to guaranteeing not only his own eventual downfall but also that of the movement he once honourably led in the battle against white minority rule. At age 77, he cannot last forever. His neighbours know it. His smarter associates and Zimbabwe's many overseas friends know it. His people know it and would wish to be shot of him. Yet by clinging to power, against all reason, and trying to fiddle yet another term next year, Mr Mugabe looks set to ensure that much that he painstakingly built up will be torn down with him. A man who was one of Africa's most respected revolutionaries is now on the wrong, losing side of a popular revolution. The clock is ticking. It is a great pity he cannot hear it.

From The Independent (UK), 4 July

Three million in strike against Mugabe 'tyranny'

Harare - Zimbabwe ground to a standstill yesterday when almost three million workers staged a largely peaceful strike in defiance of President Robert Mugabe, who branded their action illegal. Virtually all factories and most shops in the main urban centres were closed as the nation heeded a call by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) to stay at home to protest against a recent 70 per cent increase in the price of fuel, and President Robert Mugabe's "continued mismanagement of the Zimbabwean economy and his escalating human rights abuses". Reacting to the popular support for the two-day stayaway - expected to cost the country's limping economy more than 20 million pounds - Washington Matombo, the ZCTU president, said: "I am humbled by the people's response. This is a clear message against Mugabe's continued tyranny and misrule of this country ... The people cannot take it any more."

Zimbabweans ignored persistent warnings on state radio that they should report for work because the strike was illegal. The government put the entire Zimbabwe National Army and police on standby in anticipation of violence. Militants from the Zimbabwe War Veterans' Association said they would attack foreign companies that closed during the stayaway. "We want to identify such people and if they are not citizens of this country we are going to deal with them ... [make] them evacuate our country within a day," Joseph Chinotimba, one of the veterans' leaders, told state radio. Police patrols continued in some of Harare's restive townships late yesterday and roadblocks were mounted around big cities and towns.

The government had said it would deploy buses to carry people to work and would cancel the licenses of private transport operators supporting the strike. But few buses of the state-owned Zimbabwe United Omnibus Company were seen carrying commuters. The strike action was largely peaceful. In the capital, Harare, police said three bread delivery trucks had been looted and the suspects had been arrested. In Epworth township, two photographers from the Associated Press news agency, and from the opposition Daily News were arrested when they tried to take pictures of a group of policemen on patrol.

Marking a significant show of support and a departure from South Africa's uncertain diplomatic stance in past months, the powerful Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said it backed the strike and accused Mugabe of "terrorising the economy and ordinary citizens". Reports from Mutare in the east, Masvingo in the south and Bulawayo in the south-west said many businesses were shut, although government offices were functioning.

The ZCTU is a close ally of Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which has emerged in the past year as President Mugabe's most serious challenger since he came to power 21 years ago. Political tension has barely abated since a violent campaign in the run-up to general elections in June last year, when at least 31 people died. The violence was blamed on the ruling Zanu PF. The MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, is expected to challenge 77-year-old President Mugabe in an election due by May next year.

Zimbabwe's economic crisis has pushed unemployment above 60 per cent and inflation above 70 per cent. An estimated 70 per cent of Zimbabwe's 12.5 million people live in poverty. Previous national work stoppages organised by the ZCTU have successfully shut down the economy. A series of strikes in 1998 escalated into food riots. Eight people were killed in clashes with police and troops. The ZCTU represents about 90 per cent of the organised labour force, about 1.2 million workers in 32 affiliated unions.

From ZWNEWS, 3 July

Multilateral support urgently needed to back Powell's criticism of Mugabe regime

By a Special Correspondent

The United States government, along with leading human rights and Africa experts, last week squarely blamed Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF for the political and economic chaos Zimbabwe was currently enduring. Testifying to a US Senate Foreign Relations' Subcommittee on African Affairs hearing about Zimbabwe, Walter Kansteiner, the Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, confirmed that the United States could not have normal relations with Zimbabwe until "the violence and intimidation ended, and the rule of law is restored." Other panelists who testified at the hearing included Professor Robert Rotberg, a well-known Africa specialist who is currently president of the World Peace Foundation at Harvard University; Yves Serokobi, Africa director of the Committee to Protect Journalists; and John Prendergast, a consultant for the International Crisis Group - who recently returned from a field trip to Zimbabwe - unreservedly agreed with him.

In a question and answer session followed by his testimony, Kansteiner told Senator Russ Feingold, the newly elected chairman of the Africa sub-committee in the Senate, that the State Department was making constructive efforts to engage the European Union and Commonwealth to help push the process in a positive direction. The three panelists added their voices to Kansteiner's remark about engaging other countries to assist the process. "The US government now needs to work multilaterally and ensure that all the countries repeat what Secretary of State, Colin Powell, said in Johannesburg last May. Everybody's efforts must be co-ordinated," said one.

They also urged the US government to proceed with quick and proactive action to ensure the country's ever-increasing problems do not to spin out of control. "There must be US support for institutional funding for social security services. Both the opposition and civil society needs support on the ground as well," confirmed Prendergast.

When asked how the US government would handle Mugabe's rhetoric about opposing forces on the ground being seen "as puppets of the West", Kansteiner reiterated that, regardless, the US administration needed to focus on free and fair presidential elections planned for April 2002. "The presidential election - if conducted in a free and fair manner – would further Zimbabwe's emergence as a true multiparty democracy, no matter who wins. The United States must be clear on this point: it is up to Zimbabweans themselves to decide who will govern them, and they must be given the opportunity to choose freely," he said in his testimony.

Kansteiner also said he believed that they were starting to see the beginning of the election process happening in Zimbabwe, and that the State Department was looking for ways for the US to be involved in pre-election assistance now. "We can't just send in monitors. We need to encourage NGOs and others to become involved, as well as ensure a congressional presence," he confirmed. When asked by Feingold whether he felt the region was being affected economically, Kansteiner said that "yes, there has been an effect although there is no direct data available confirming this. We have anecdotal evidence of investment declining in South Africa and Botswana." Also of concern was the exodus of middle-classed professionals from Zimbabwe. When asked by Feingold if there had been a 'brain drain' from the country, Rotberg confirmed that there certainly had been, and that this had been occurring since the 1980s. "You must remember it is very hard to get these Zimbabweans back into the country," he said.

Prendergast also confirmed the current exodus (estimates place it at about 300,000 mostly black professionals leaving last year alone), and said that the US government should commit to supplementing salaries to those professionals - such as doctors, nurses and teachers - that remain in Zimbabwe in order to ensure they do not leave as well. Kansteiner also confirmed - in response to a question from Feingold asking if there had been any change in attitudes in the region - that he believed the recent commitment shown by the Commonwealth Seven, which included some of Zimbabwe's neighbours, demonstrated a change of attitude, and "I think this is a good effort which will certainly create an increase in interest in Zimbabwe."

When questioned about the necessity of the Zimbabwe Democracy Act (ZDA) being passed by the US Congress, both Rotberg and Prendergast agreed it had to move as quickly as possible. "The Zimbabwean government is petrified this bill will go through," Prendergast said, "they have a genuine fear of it passing for obvious reasons." Rotberg added that the US government's passing of the bill would be much more significant in Zimbabwe because of the psychological affects it would have on the Zimbabwean people. Also, with the Commonwealth and EU allegedly considering similar restrictions, they believed this was further reason for the US administration to back the passage of the ZDA.

All the panelists' testimonies, will shortly be available on www.zwnews.com in the Politics - Reports section. See also Senator Feingold's introductory statement to the hearing below.

From The New York Times, 3 July

Poor Zimbabweans back strike

Harare - The hunger pangs factory worker Steven Tagwireyi feels at night makes him support a planned two-day national protest strike starting Tuesday. Tagwireyi said he and his 110 colleagues support the strike because soaring inflation has made life so difficult, even for the 40 percent of adults lucky enough to have jobs. "Once we ate chicken or meat stew every day" said Tagwireyi, a 32-year-old part-time laborer at a Harare plastics maker. "Now it's a luxury we can't afford."

The strike, called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, protests a 70 percent rise in fuel prices that sparked similar increases in commuter bus fares. The government has declared the strike illegal. It said strikers attempt to paralyze the commuter transport network to prevent workers opposed to the strike from reaching their jobs. Authorities said they would deploy buses to take workers to their jobs and cancel the licenses of bus companies supporting the work protest.

Lovemore Matombo, president of the federation, dismissed government allegations the planned strike was "economic sabotage" by political opponents of President Robert Mugabe that would worsen unemployment by forcing more businesses to the wall. "It is they, not us, who have created inflation and large scale unemployment through mismanagement and corruption," Matombo said. "We are withdrawing our labor for two days as the only resort we have to make them listen."

The federation vowed to defy the government's ban but urged workers to stay home and not take part in public demonstrations against the government. "We know they are going to deploy the police and army and they are going to provoke the situation," Matombo said. The main fear was that strike supporters may attempt to barricade roads to stop the government's promised deployment of extra state-owned buses to ferry opponents of the strike to work, he said. Authorities would likely move quickly to crush any unrest, said John Robertson, a privately employed economic analyst, based in Harare. "With a rapidly shrinking economy and the political crisis deepening, the smallest excuse would be needed to declare a state of emergency" with sweeping powers of arrest, detention without trial, the suspension of parliament and rule by decree, Robertson said.

Unemployment has soared during the worst economic crisis since independence from British colonial rule in 1980. About 70 percent of Zimbabwe's 12.5 million population live in poverty. Tagwireyi earns $58 for the equivalent of 15 working days a month. His bus fare, rent, his two children's state school fees and electricity charges leave him with about $16 a month. That's to pay for food, medical expenses and leisure. "It's killing us," he said. "But at least I am lucky to have a job." About 80,000 workers lost their jobs in the dwindling economy in the year that ended March 2000, according to government figures. Political violence and the drying up of hard currency earnings and investment are estimated to have cost another 120,000 jobs. Police Monday set up check points on the main streets into the impoverished outlying townships of Harare where most workers live. Supermarkets were swamped with shoppers panic buying food for the week.

From Business Day (SA), 2 July

More to Young than meets the eye

Critics thought Andrew Young was off his rocker when he said recently Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was managing the land crisis in his country better than Britain was handling political problems in Northern Ireland. But if the information that is beginning to filter out of Harare is to be believed, the former US ambassador to the United Nations definitely has all his marbles intact and might have been on a much bigger, and potentially far-reaching mission to Zimbabwe than seemed apparent at the time.

Young has apparently hatched a plan in conjunction with some regional leaders and long-suffering Zimbabwean businessmen that could get Zimbabwe out of its present economic and political crisis. The talk, too, is that he has the tacit approval of Washington and London. The first part of the plan, insiders say, is to charm and gain the confidence of Mugabe, hence Young's overdramatisation of the strife facing London in Northern Ireland in comparison to the Zimbabwean crisis.

The second, and more difficult part, will concentrate on making Mugabe realise it is possible to dust off Zimbabwe's worsening image as a pariah state, a la Libya and Iraq, if he makes certain political compromises. This includes amending the constitution to allow powersharing between the ruling Zanu PF party and Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change. Depending on other developments, the masterminds behind the plan are also musing about the possible postponement of next year's eagerly anticipated presidential elections, meaning Mugabe will be guaranteed the presidency for one more term while Tsvangirai becomes prime minister during that interim period. This, they hope, will avert possible bloodshed in the run-up to the 2002 elections and afford time to resolve Zimbabwe's worsening crisis.

Although it is easy to dismiss the existence and content of this plan - more so given that both Mugabe and Tsvangirai have previously dismissed the idea of a government of national unity - recent events in Zimbabwe and elsewhere suggest it would be unwise to do so now. To begin with, Mugabe's hold on power is unquestionably at its weakest since independence in 1980. If one were, for example, to discount the 30 non-constituency seats that the constitution vests in the president's hands, the opposition could now be the majority in parliament following the recent nullification by the courts of a number of seats won by Mugabe's party in last year's general election. This means there is scope for the MDC to mount a legal challenge in court to demand to form a new government, and ultimately press for Mugabe's ouster.

Among other recent developments is the fact that the Zimbabwean crisis featured prominently in talks between presidents Thabo Mbeki and George Bush when they met at the White House a fortnight ago. It has been interesting to watch. A few days later, the US state department was arguing vigorously in a New York court that Mugabe was entitled to immunity in the US in a lawsuit filed against him by the relatives of victims of the violence in the run-up to last year's parliamentary election in Zimbabwe. In addition, Kenya's President Daniel arap Moi, who met Mugabe in Nairobi two weeks ago, and whose country is a member of the Commonwealth team that will soon visit Zimbabwe, was in Washington last week where he met Vice-President Dick Cheney. Could this not have been a follow-up to his meeting with Mugabe?

And as if to stock the rumour mill further, Tsvangirai, Mugabe's chief rival for the leadership of the country, is in the US meeting influential figures, among them the new US assistant secretary of state for Africa, Walter Kansteiner. It is not inconceivable that the MDC leader might also meet Young, Secretary of State Colin Powell and, maybe, even Bush himself, for there is renewed interest in the region by the Americans. Then there is also the small, but significant, matter of Robin Cook's demotion and removal as UK foreign minister, which pleased Harare no end. While he was seen as standing in the way of Britain's interests in Europe, Cook and Peter Hain were also seen as impediments to warmer relations between London and Harare.

Young has appeared to confirm the plan by saying that his meeting in Harare with Mugabe was at "the suggestion of some of my friends among the leadership in Africa". The question to ask is, could Mbeki be among these friends? "The violence and suffering (in Zimbabwe) will continue worsen unless we come together to create an orderly, rational and moral solution for Zimbabwe. Can this be done without Mugabe? I do not believe so," Young says. And he is absolutely right. Mugabe holds the key to the resolution of Zimbabwe's myriad problems. If he plays ball, Young and his friends will succeed. But if Uncle Bob doesn't like the plan, then the idea is as dead as a dodo.

From News24 (SA), 2 July

Don't desert us, MDC asks UK

London - Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai urged Britain not to turn its back on its troubled former colony during a meeting with new Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on Monday. Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), met Straw at the Foreign Office for the first time since Straw replaced Robin Cook last month. He used the occasion to urge the government to continue keeping a close eye on Zimbabwe, a country blighted by violence since President Robert Mugabe introduced a controversial land reform scheme last year.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "Tsvangirai appealed to the world to continue to focus its attention on what is happening in Zimbabwe. He stressed it was not only important for Zimbabwe but for the international community as a whole. He urged Britain to keep a close eye on what is happening in Zimbabwe." The spokesperson said Tsvangirai recognised that Britain was very "engaged" in Zimbabwe, due to historical ties, and pleaded with the government not to desert the country now.

Tsvangirai, who also met junior foreign minister Valerie Amos, responsible for Africa, requested the meeting with Straw as part of an international tour. Last weekend the opposition leader was in Washington and later this week he will travel to Strasbourg where he will meet representatives from the European Union. Straw and Tsvangirai, 48, also discussed the "situation on the ground" in Zimbabwe. "They were very interested to hear his assessment of the situation. He is the leader of the opposition so his assessment needs to be seen in that light," the spokesperson added.

Mugabe's government last week listed another 1453 farms it plans to seize as part of the controversial land reform scheme. This follows another list published one week ago of 577 farms, for a total of 2030 farms listed in the last eight days. Zimbabwe has a total of about 5500 commercial farms. The government plans to take the mostly white-owned farms and resettle them with poor black farmers in a bid to redress colonial-era inequalities in land ownership. Mugabe's land reforms have been heavily tied to political violence against Tsvangirai's MDC, which has posed the most serious challenge ever to his 21-year rule.

From The Zimbabwe Standard, 1 July

CIO, war veterans invade Tsvangirai’s village

War veterans and CIO agents have descended on MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai’s home village of Nerutanga in Buhera North. Villagers from the area told The Standard last week that the war veterans and state agents, who in the last few weeks set up their bases in the village, had been intimidating and harassing opposition supporters ahead of a possible by-election following the nullification of Zanu PF’s election win in last year’s parliamentary election.

The High Court recently nullified the election result of the constituency where Zanu PF’s Kenneth Manyonda had defeated Tsvangirai. In possible anticipation of a by-election and in preparation for next year’s presidential election, the ruling party has embarked on a massive terror campaign in the whole constituency targeting school teachers, "uncooperative" traditional leaders, and other civil servants. However, of late, the war veterans have intensified their campaign by invading Tsvangirai’s home area where they have terrorised villagers and the local MDC leadership.

A number of MDC supporters from the village have been on the run as a result of the terror campaign. MDC branch secretary for the area, Willard Magadzire, told The Standard that scores of families had been forced to abandon their homes and had fled to mountains for safety. Magadzire himself had his homestead burnt and property worth over $100 000 destroyed by the marauding Zanu PF supporters. Magadzire said the ruling party supporters were also causing terror in nearby villages of Nharira and Gwebu.

Police, despite being told of the violence, have characteristically refused to intervene and arrest the culprits. "We have reported the matter to the local police but this has not helped. Every time we ask about the police inaction, the police tell us that they are afraid of the CIOs. We are exposed," said Magadzire. "I left my family in Buhera and I am not sure of their safety. Our supporters are now staying in mountains while others have moved in with relatives who stay in other places. The situation is bad."

From ZWNEWS, 1 July

Turbulent priest says farewell

By a Special Correspondent

In an emotional three-hour service Sunday, hundreds of Harare parishioners said goodbye to Canon Tim Neill, the Zimbabwean priest who is going into self-imposed exile in protest at government meddling in the Anglican church. At least 600 people crowded onto straw bales and pews in the garden of St Luke's church in Greendale suburb, for Neill's farewell service. Neill, who has been accused of fomenting racial divisions within the Anglican church, has been rector at St Luke's for 16 years. Members of the congregation sang for Baba (Father) Neill - mostly in Shona. Teenagers danced for him, blue-scarved members of the Mothers Union gave him gifts and church officers promised to carry on his work.

Neill, whose active stand against the government of President Robert Mugabe has been welcomed by many churches in Zimbabwe, was sacked as Vicar General of Harare by the government in February. He refused to resign, instead choosing to go into exile to protest against anti-canonical procedures which put a staunch Mugabe supporter into office as Bishop of Harare. Neill first came to prominence in March last year, when St Luke's distributed a pamphlet criticising Mugabe's stance on land invasions after the president refused to stop war veterans illegally occupying white-owned farms. The government said then his parish had to be prepared to be treated as part of the opposition trying to oust Mugabe from power.

Earlier this year, Neill was bypassed for election as Bishop of Harare after Mugabe's friend Norbert Kunonga was brought in, in a move Neill argues bypassed canonical law. Kunonga in his enthronement speech lashed out at priests in Harare calling them "tools for other races" and "religious Uncle Toms." In February, Neill claimed to have survived an attempt on his life after a government-owned vehicle tried to run his car off the road as he was returning home after giving a speech criticising the government.

While Neill has over the past year spoken out fearlessly against the government - he said in an interview last week that the international community had to do "anything that makes it hard for the regime to survive, anything that takes away its credibility" - his words on Sunday bore little trace of bitterness. He made only one reference to the "disgraceful things happening in our nation." "You know what to do," he urged the congregation, as one woman told of how Neill had healed racial rifts in the church by setting up house-meetings where blacks and whites could eat and talk together. While he has cut all ties with the Anglican church in Zimbabwe, Neill has said he wishes to stay on in the country, possibly to work with an NGO.

From The Zimbabwe Standard, 1 July

Armed war vets terrorise villagers

Bulawayo - Armed bands of former Zipra combatants have caused panic among the civilian population on the new resettlement areas in the Nyamandlovu area, north-west of Bulawayo. The war veterans are said to be harassing suspected supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change, and sexually abusing women settlers. According to some settlers at one resettlement scheme near Deli, groups of rowdy war veterans, some clutching Kalashnikov combat rifles, roam the resettlement areas on a daily basis, intimidating those who do not possess Zanu PF membership cards. Seven settlers were reported to have abandoned the new homes after war veterans kept on harassing and threatening to kill them.

"Nobody feels safe in this place because of harassment by war veterans. Whenever we make reports to the Nyamandlovu police, they tell us they can’t touch war vets," one villager told The Standard during a recent visit. "There is complete lawlessness in this country and something must be done to stop the harassment of civilians by these war veterans," said Kabelo Mlothswa, who claimed to have been tortured by three war veterans. Sometimes, the war veterans invade white-owned farms and ranches in the district and demand fresh milk and amasi (a dairy product). If the farmers refuse to give them the milk and game meat, they are severely assaulted. Police in Nyamandlovu refused to speak to The Standard saying they were instructed not to talk to journalists from the independent media. The officer who answered the phone told the paper to send questions to Harare. "Anything to do with war veterans, please ask our Harare headquarters," said the officer.

The Standard also visited the Deli resettlement area to investigate allegations that some women settlers were being sexually assaulted by the former freedom fighters. When this reporter arrived in Deli, he was confronted by four war veterans dressed in military style khaki outfits, who promptly "arrested" him for entering what they called "a protected area". The men took the reporter to their leader who simply introduced himself as the field commander of Nyamandlovu resettlement area and was "licensed" to eliminate suspected MDC spies and foreign journalists.

"Who told you to come here? Were you sent by MDC? Everyone reports to me in this place and you must be punished for disregarding our rules," he said. "You are a journalist, I have no comment," added the self-styled field commander. He however, later gave his name as Comrade Dabudabu and agreed to speak to The Standard. He denied accusations that his men were sexually harassing women on the farms, and that one of his men wanted to kill a villager suspected of being a member of the MDC. "We don’t harass civilians here. We only kill spies sent by whites," Cde Dabudabu claimed. However, the women settlers who were brave enough to speak to this paper said two of their colleagues had been raped by war veterans on the farms. The victims had been attacked after allegedly turning down the war veterans’ advances. "If you are raped here, the police will not do anything because they were told not to interfere with the war veterans," said Cecilia Moyo who was allocated a stand in the area when land was being parcelled out.

From The Sunday Times (SA), 1 July

Britain sends crack diplomat to Harare

London - Britain is sending one of its most hardened diplomatic fire-fighters to replace its ambassador to Zimbabwe. Joseph Brian Donnelly begins work in Harare tomorrow after a week of tensions between the two countries following Zimbabwean Information Minister Jonathan Moyo's expulsion of the British journalist David Blair. The present British ambassador, Peter Longworth, has protested against the expulsion and President Robert Mugabe's government has been condemned by the US and other nations.

Donnelly would not be drawn on his approach to Zimbabwe this week and emphasised that he would be liaising with the new British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, and other leaders - including South Africa's. Donnelly is considered an expert in handling volatile diplomatic situations. His last posting was in Belgrade, Serbia, where he worked with US special envoy Richard Holbrooke to find a solution to conflict between Yugoslavia and ethnic Albanians. He was the British ambassador to Serbia when Nato forces led by the US and Britain bombed Serbia in 1998 because of its actions in Kosovo.

"Professionally, I am dying to go to Zimbabwe. It is a place that matters to Britain and one obviously hopes to see bilateral relations between our two countries bettered. I also hope to use my experience from Yugoslavia there," he said. Donnelly said the relationship between Britain and Zimbabwe had to "move from a stage where we appear to be shouting at each other to where we are talking to each other".

From The Sunday Times (UK), 1 July

Mugabe 'to starve opponents'

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is prepared to starve his opponents in order to preserve his grip on power, the country's opposition leader claimed this weekend. Once a regional breadbasket, Zimbabwe has seen its grain harvest fall by 28% this year and the farming ministry predicts that maize, the main staple, will run out altogether in February. To avert disaster this winter, Mugabe's government needs to spend about $30m on imported maize, according to Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). However, the president intends to exploit the crisis by ensuring that his supporters are fed while others go hungry, he said.

"The government has deliberately underplayed the situation in order not to cause panic," said Tsvangirai in an interview in which he recalled Mugabe's tactics during previous food shortages in the 1980s. "Food will be given in return for political patronage. Mugabe will give food to his Zanu-PF supporters only; villages will be forced to sign up to the party or face the worst." Tsvangirai is convinced that unless the international community moves quickly to oversee food distribution, social unrest will be almost inevitable. "Mugabe will respond with a violent crackdown," he said, and he appealed to Tony Blair's government to help to prevent conflict: "Britain should mobilise the donors to deal with the political crisis and the humanitarian crisis. This should be a foreign policy priority. Zimbabwe can be helped to grow but at the moment it is being run down into a basket case. It is a liability to the region, not an asset."

Zimbabwe is widely perceived to be in the grip of the worst economic crisis since independence. But Mugabe has found himself increasingly isolated internationally following attacks on the opposition, the judiciary and the press. With his support, violent groups of war veterans have sown havoc on white farms, 5,200 of which have been designated for seizure. According to Tsvangirai, international donors should prepare "a type of Marshall plan" for the country. He envisages that it may even be necessary to deploy United Nations peacekeepers if Mugabe provokes civil unrest rather than risk losing the presidency.

Tsvangirai's MDC, which made big gains in last year's parliamentary elections, hopes to topple Mugabe in a presidential poll that must take place before March 31. However, Mugabe – who calls himself the father of the nation - has shown little inclination to let his revolutionary Zanu-PF party fall from power. Tsvangirai, who is to meet Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, tomorrow before flying to Strasbourg for talks with MEPs and European commissioners, said that under the "suicidal policies" of Mugabe, Zimbabwe was grinding to a halt. Farm invasions have reduced the tobacco crop, the country's main source of foreign currency, by 40%. Its Mazda car assembly plant is idle and fuel prices have been increased by 72%. The flow of tourists, which peaked at a lucrative 1.5m a year, has slowed to a trickle.

"The government is totally insensitive to the poverty that prevails," Tsvangirai said. He talked openly of the potential for a coup, warning that any divisions in the security forces could be regarded by Mugabe as another pretext for a crackdown. Tsvangirai insisted he had played no part in organising a general strike called in response to the fuel price rise and expected to take place this week. He hoped it would pass off peacefully, he said, but with an assassination attempt and countless death threats behind him, he knows his party will be in the firing line. "The MDC is caught between a restless people and an arrogant government," he said. He appealed to the Zimbabwean opposition to stick together and urged any farmers tempted to seek a deal with Mugabe over land reform to stick with the Commercial Farmers Union. The union remains resolutely opposed to the land acquisition policies of the president, which have yielded 18 months of mayhem on thousands of farms that were once the pride of Africa.

From The Zimbabwe Independent, 29 June

Minister incites farm seizure

A cabinet minister and governor are orchestrating the acquisition of Macheke-based Sariview farm, threatening the production of maize, export grass seed, tobacco and cattle breeding worth $55 million in annual turnover. The latest siege by hordes of war veterans who this week blocked the farmer from carrying two of his sick workers for treatment at Macheke Clinic, came after they took over parts of the farm in December and destroyed tobacco worth $1,5 million and export grass worth $300 000 by ploughing it into the ground. The squatters also cut down thousands of trees and poached wild animals and fish from the farmer’s dam.

The 1 400-hectare farm, which last year produced 400 tonnes of maize, could now only manage a harvest of 10 tonnes from one hectare, an outcome which the farmer attributed to the work disruptions by the Zanu PF supporters. In a telephone interview this week farm owner George Botha said his single productive farm was listed in October last year but was later delisted after government realised that it had made a mistake in acquiring the farm. "A district administrator in Murewa misinformed the land committee that I own various farms, but it was discovered that I only had one productive farm. Government said it was prepared to compensate me for the legal costs," said Botha. "However, I have not yet received anything from the government but the farm was delisted."

It now appears to have attracted the attention of well-connected predators including a cabinet minister whose constituency is in the area. Botha said despite his farm having been delisted, hordes of war veterans were now camped at his farm, threatening his workers, who at one time spent almost three days sleeping outside in fear of the squatters. He said they prevented his workers’ children from going to school and contaminated the water supplies by putting condoms in the reservoir which supply drinking water to the workers. "The squatters admitted that they have contaminated the water in front of governor David Karimanzira," he said.

On Monday this week, they blocked Botha’s wife from ferrying the two sick workers to the hospital when they set up a fire barricade at the exit gate. Botha says his workers were threatened with firearms and axes. "We informed the police who paid us a visit but refused to take the sick people to the hospital. The police told me that they were not an ambulance service," he said. He also said police told him that it was not their duty to remove the squatters. Botha said the hostile squatters became calm after being addressed by Zanu PF Mashonaland East provincial chairman, Ray Kaukonde. "As of yesterday the situation became a little bit okay after Kaukonde addressed the squatters," he said.

It is believed that of the 30 squatters only two of them are war veterans. He said in an unprecedented move, the former Murewa district administrator, Mbetsa, allocated a Murewa-based businessman, Ndorochena, a plot of about 100 hectares on Botha’s farm. "My irrigation complex with four boreholes, underground piping, a big reservoir, electrical wire cables and underground cables all worth about $8 million have been allocated to Ndorochena," he said. He said Ndorochena, who also owned a farm in Chitova, and another businessman, Manhungire, and Garwe whose family owns a farm in Chitova, were among the 53 people resettled on his farm by Karimanzira.

From The Zimbabwe Independent, 29 June

Zim opposes inclusion of law and order for C’wealth

Government is campaigning to drop issues of governance from the agenda of the Commonwealth team of foreign ministers appointed to mediate in the standoff between London and Harare. Diplomatic sources yesterday said Zimbabwe was anxious to restrict the terms of reference of the seven-member group to avoid examination of governance concerns. Harare authorities have been claiming that the Commonwealth ministerial team would be established and mandated solely to resolve the differences over land between Britain and Zimbabwe. Last week President Robert Mugabe shed more light on the official line after telling a meeting in Kenya, where he had gone to see his counterpart Daniel arap Moi over the Zimbabwe crisis, that "extraneous" matters should not be allowed to distract attention from the land issue. "What Zimbabwe does not want to see is a fixation on peripheral matters such as the rule of law, democracy, good governance, and political violence when the core issue is land," Mugabe said.

However, Australian High Commissioner Jonathan Brown yesterday said the Commonwealth group should focus on the wider crisis. "With the Brisbane Commonwealth heads of government meeting in prospect, Australia has followed with interest the development of the Nigerian proposal to convene a Commonwealth foreign ministers’ group to discuss and visit Zimbabwe," Brown said after presenting his credentials to Mugabe. "As a Commonwealth group, we see it as addressing key Commonwealth concerns, and avoiding excessive focus on any bilateral aspects of the situation," he said. "Australia shares widely-held concerns about the rule of law and the democratic process in Zimbabwe." Brown went further: "We hope the Commonwealth and this new group can assist Zimbabwe find a resolution to the current problems consistent with the Commonwealth’s traditions of democratic good governance and concern for sustainable economic development."

Mugabe has been trying hard to present the Zimbabwe emergency as solely stemming from the land issue. He has vigorously sought to obscure other issues under the sludge of land reform rhetoric. His reference to the rule of law – a fundamental pillar of democracy - as a "peripheral" or "extraneous" matter consolidated the perception that he held the rule of law in contempt. Zimbabweans have complained about the state of the economy - lack of fuel, foreign currency, inflation - which they ascribe to misrule.

Commonwealth members want the ministerial team to investigate a whole raft of issues: the rule of law, lawlessness, harassment of opposition leaders, judges, and the media. British High Commission secretary for political affairs Richard Lindsay agreed with Brown. "We welcome the initiative for constructive engagement but it must address a full range of issues," Lindsay said. "It’s important from our perspective that it should deal with all issues of concern." Last week the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commenting on the latest diplomatic initiative to resolve the confrontation between London and Harare, said: "The UK would welcome any initiative which will enable the international community to convey its concerns about the situation in Zimbabwe."

Diplomatic sources said addressing the national crisis from a holistic point of view, as opposed to a narrow land-oriented approach, would ensure political stability and economic recovery. The ministerial group - which will have its first meeting in Abuja soon - includes ministers from Nigeria, Britain, South Africa, Kenya, Australia, Jamaica and Zimbabwe itself. It will report back before the meeting of the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in October in Brisbane. The group is a replacement for the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) team, which Mugabe barred in March from visiting Zimbabwe to investigate attacks on the judiciary and the media.

Zimbabwe snootily rejected the CMAG visit claiming that it amounted to "gross interference" in domestic affairs. But it would appear Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo, who was appointed to mediate between London and Harare at the Africa/EU summit in Cairo in April last year, and South Africa President Thabo Mbeki have finally prevailed on him to cooperate. Observers say the deepening national crisis and the need for foreign financial assistance to stave off economic collapse and save the land reform programme from failure forced Mugabe to change his mind on "no going back".

Mugabe is under international pressure to accept dialogue. Pretoria is in particular tightening the screws on him. Mbeki was recently in Britain on a state visit. He held talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and touched on the Zimbabwe crisis. This week, Mbeki met President George W Bush in Washington. Again the Zimbabwe issue surfaced. "We affirmed our mutual desire for a peaceful, democratic, prosperous Zimbabwe, in which human rights and rule of law are respected," Bush and Mbeki said in their joint statement at the end of their talks.

From The Zimbabwe Independent, 29 June

Chinotimba in new raids

Senior executive members of the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU), an offshoot of President Mugabe’s ruling Zanu PF party, this week stepped up attacks on private businesses under the guise of intervening in labour disputes, it has been gathered. The ZFTU, which was officially resurrected last month under the guidance of Joseph Chinotimba, was designed as a vehicle for Zanu PF supporters to win over urban voters to the ruling party through intervention in labour disputes. In the latest case of state-sanctioned extortion, a number of companies in the Ruwa industrial area have been raided by officials from the ZFTU. Club Construction, Hy-Veld Seed Company, Budget Foods, Maize for Africa, Tuffman, and Aurex - a Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe subsidiary - were among the 15 companies affected by the recent raids.

On Tuesday a ZFTU official, Makopa, in the company of four retrenched workers, visited Hy-Veld Seed Company where he told the director that they wanted to resolve their long-standing labour dispute with the former employees. Hy-Veld Seed Company is an important player in the export sector and employs over 400 workers. A senior official at Hy-Veld Seed Company, who asked for anonymity, confirmed the visit by the ZFTU officials.

"They visited our offices this week but I referred them to my lawyers. They just wanted money from us which I disputed," said the official. "I am still to know which Statutory Instrument they are using." The official said that a ZFTU official threatened to beat up management if the employees were not reinstated or paid money. "We don’t need to follow the law in Zimbabwe. We are going to fix you in another way if you fail to honour our demands," the ZFTU official told the director of one of the affected companies. "There is no need of going through the courts about this case," the ZFTU representative told the director.

Senior managers with companies in the Ruwa industrial area confirmed the threats from the ZFTU officials which they said were made through telephone calls or visits. "We have received telephone threats and several visits from people who claim to be executive officials of ZFTU," said one manager with an ice cream manufacturing company. "About three quarters of the companies operating in Ruwa have been experiencing problems with ZFTU members." Asked how they had handled the visits, he said they told them to deal with the police, courts and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.

Chinotimba, a war veterans leader and Zanu PF Harare province official, assured delegates during the re-launch of the ZFTU that he would intervene in labour disputes. Police confirmed that some companies in Ruwa had reported cases of threats and unusual visits by ZFTU officials, but said investigations were still underway. "We assured company officials that the police would deal with people who want to extort money on the excuse of trying to solve labour disputes," said a police spokesman in Ruwa. An executive of the National Union of Food and Allied Workers also confirmed the reports of the recent visits by ZFTU. "I can confirm that we have received some complaints but there are others who bypass us and go directly to deal with their former employers after seeking assistance from ZFTU, which we are not affiliated to," the official said. "We deal with cases directed to us, not through ZFTU."

The latest attacks on businesses by ZFTU officials contradicted Labour minister John Nkomo’s announcement in May that labour disputes were best handled by unions and the Ministry of Labour. Despite the government’s call to end company raids, Chinotimba appeared on state television vehemently insisting that private business raids would continue unabated. "Everything has the blessing of those from the top, a situation which has heavily eroded our economy," said one analyst. The ZFTU has in the past expressed opposition to the ZCTU’s political agenda, arguing - in line with Zanu PF that trade unions should target employers, not the government. It has vowed to stop the proposed stayaway on Monday.

From The Daily News, 29 June

French doctors flee war veterans

Bulawayo - Four volunteer doctors from the French organisation, Medicins Sans Frontiers (Doctors without Borders), have fled Inyathi, about 30km outside Bulawayo, after being threatened by war veterans. The war veterans accused the doctors, who were working on an HIV/Aids support programme in the area, of being linked to the MDC. The doctors, together with four local field officers and a co-ordinator, fled to the safety of Bulawayo. The doctors arrived in the country in September last year and were accredited by the Ministry of Heath and Child Welfare as volunteers. They were posted to Inyathi which, like any other part of Zimbabwe, is recording high HIV/Aids-related deaths.

Trouble started when the doctors, who sponsor the Aids programme for outpatients, offered the job of field officer to Eveline Kufa, who is not from the area. The war veterans demanded that Kufa's appointment be nullified because she was not from Inyathi. They wanted a local to be appointed instead. The doctors resisted the move, resulting in the war veterans threatening to beat them up. On Monday, the ex-fighters were scheduled to meet the doctors and field officers who are working under the Bekezela (Aids) Home-Based Care organisation, but the war veterans pulled out at the last minute, charging that they would not talk to MDC agents.

A few kilometres from Inyathi, teachers, nurses and other civil servants are being persecuted for alleged links with the MDC, the country's official opposition party in Parliament. Hundreds have been transferred and appeals to the Matabeleland North governor, Obert Mpofu, to restore order are being ignored. The doctors are not the first expatriates to be forced to leave their work station by war veterans. Early this year, Britain recalled a team of 10 military trainers who were based in Harare over Zimbabwe's reluctance to restore order.