Mandebvhu Talks “Zimbabwe”…

The spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington agreed on a three-pronged strategy for Zimbabwe in the event of regime change. In the first phase, the Fund would be responsible for restoring stability to Zimbabwe’s currency, which has fallen precipitously as the country’s economic crisis has

caused hyper-inflation. The IMF has put aside $1bn for a currency stabilisation fund.

Simultaneously, the World Bank would announce a package of humanitarian assistance designed to ease the country’s problems of poverty and hunger caused by the economic crisis.

Some humanitarian assistance has been arriving in Zimbabwe through aid agencies and charities but the Bank believes a major increase in financial support will be needed over the coming months. Officials in Washington said plans for the emergency help from the Fund and the Bank had now been finalised and the money could start flowing to Zimbabwe within days.

The final part of the package will be land reform. Although seen as less pressing than stabilising the currency or helping the hungry, the institutions believe that the land reform programme of Robert Mugabe is a root cause of Zimbabwe’s plight and that new reforms to boost the country’s once-strong agricultural sector will require western money.

Britain has agreed that its former colonial links mean that it should lead the way in funding land reform and that money would be reallocated in the Department for International Development’s budget from other spending commitments.

(Source: by email)

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ZNU 118 is released. As you will no doubt hear, I am absolutely exhausted - mainly because I am fighting with a problem in my injured arm. I have not been sleeping very well, but will continue in my quest for the Zimbabwean people.This would be as good as any point to advise you all that there will not be a posting on Wednesday this week as I have an appointment with the Specialist to work out just what has gone wrong in my arm and what steps we are going to take to sort it all out.

In today’s podcast I look at the UN and AU Charters with the Zimbabwean crisis in mind, whilst the MDC offices in Harare are raided by armed policemen and hundreds arrested, the death toll in the post-election violence continues to rise, whilst the MDC majority in Parliament is confirmed in the recount.

We still await the Presidential election result.

The programme can be heard in the multiplayers in the right hand sidebar of The Bearded Man or here and can be either downloaded or played from here.

My historical podcasts (all 118) can be heard anytime from my Odeo page.

Thank you for your continued support of my weekly podcasts.

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It is Sunday, 27th April, time is 1am.

It seems as if a lifetime has passed since my first letter on the 5^th April. We are still on the farm (husband and myself) but now with a base camp set up 150 yards from the homestead, and a roadblock below the house. This made up of drums and branches from trees.

We were informed that there was to be a “pungwe” tonight. A “pungwe” is a political reorientation by the Youth Brigade and “war veterans” of our staff and surrounding people.

Woken up at 11.00 (Saturday) pm with the “pungwe”, it is getting closer and closer to the homestead. It is now right outside our front gate. (This is locked permanently for protection.) Our security dog is very quiet, does this mean that he has been killed?

The noise escalates, I start phoning for assistance. The time is 11.40pm on Saturday 26th April, the reaction team leader is phoned, and he can hear the noise on my side.

He assures me that assistance is on its way. I phone his superior who reassures me that they are on the way. They always reassure us they are reacting but they never arrive. I phone a Provincial leader but the lady of the house informs me that he is asleep and will not be woken. My question to her is what if there is “bloodshed tonight” and the reply is “there is nothing I can do!”

It is now 1pm and still no assistance has arrived. The “pungwe” has moved away from our front gate and now back at their base camp. It is only in instances like this that one notices how sound travels through the dead of night. It is so much LOUDER!!! The “pungwe” continues.

We have checked on our Staff housed within the security fence and they are okay. This is Staff brought in to help while our permanent staff refuses to work as they are petrified of intimidation. Our security dog is okay we have checked on him too.

It is a waiting game. Will they or won’t they come to help us?? While I am sitting here trying to put words together I just want to say how wonderful the family have been during this time. For all the support and love you have given us during these three weeks. We love you so much.

To all the friends and family who have phoned from all over the world we could not continue without you. For those few, brave enough to pay us a visit in our situation you are wonderful people.

To all the strangers that have replied to our situation we thank you for all the support, phone calls, texts, emails etc., it is so encouraging to know that you stand with us in the fight of our lives.

May God Bless you all.

A Farmer’s Wife

(The time is 1.15am - still no reaction)

(Source: via email)

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The MDC government-in-waiting has written formally to the Police Commissioner and the Commander of the armed forces. In the public interest and for the record, these letters are reproduced here in full.

Deliberate failure by ZRP to carry out its constitutional duty
24 April 2008

For The Attention of Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri

Dear Sir

RE: DELIBERATE FAILURE BY POLICE TO CARRY OUT ITS CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY AND SELECTIVE ARRESTS AND PROSECUTION OF MEMBERS OF THE MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE

In the run up to the harmonised elections, the Zimbabwe Republic Police addressed meetings around the country calling for peace in the run up, during and after the elections.

To a large extent, these meetings had the desired effect in the run up and during the elections. Relative peace was maintained. The Police should be commended for the fine effort. Alas, the post election period has witnessed violence of no mean proportion amounting to a humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.

The Police have turned a blind eye to the violence perpetrated on a defenceless population by the Zimbabwe Defence forces and ZANU PF youth and militia.

We have it on good record that you have ordered members of the Police not to interfere in the orgy of violence perpetrated on the civilian population. It is clear that members of the Zimbabwe Defence forces and ZANU PF youth and militia are immune from arrest and persecution despite their brazen unlawful conduct.

Your conduct is in clear violation of the constitution which obliges the Police, in terms of section 93 thereof, to preserve the internal security of Zimbabwe and maintain law and order therein. You are ultimately responsible and liable for the failure in carrying out this constitutional responsibility.

We hereby demand that you order the Police to carry out their duties in accordance with the constitution of Zimbabwe and without fear or favour. In particular, we demand that members of the Zimbabwe defence forces and ZANU PF youth and militia who have offended against the law be brought to book.

It is sad that the people who are being arrested, members of the Movement for Democratic Change, are victims not perpetrators of the violence.

We look forward to the immediate restoration of the Civilian authority by the Police in Zimbabwe as a people’s force not an organ of ZANU PF.

Yours faithfully,

Hon Tendai Biti, MP,

MDC Secretary General

Unlawful Deployment of Units of Zimbabwe Defence
24th April 2008

For the Personal Attention of General Constantine Chiwenga

Ref: Unlawful Deployment of Units of Zimbabwe Defence

Section 96 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides for defence forces for the purpose of defending Zimbabwe.

We note with concern the active and extensive deployment of units of the defence forces in the whole country, particularly the rural areas in the aftermath of the harmonised elections (whose presidential result is still awaited).

There is no internal danger posed to the security of Zimbabwe necessitating the deployment. Such deployment is not in support of civilian authority, but is meant to subvert and subjugate the will of the people.

We are in receipt of detailed reports of incidences of harassment, assault, torture, murder, burning of homesteads perpetrated by units of defence forces or ZANU PF militia, commanded, and led by the said units. This inhuman and unmilitary behaviour is punishment for the people having exercised their democratic right to vote for the candidate of their choice as President - Morgan Tsvangirai.

During the orgy of violence people are brazenly told they should vote for Robert Mugabe in the presidential run-off (although results are not yet announced).

The conduct of the defence forces against their own innocent fathers and mothers is a callous and contemptuous disregard for their democratic right to choose a leader of their choice and a clear breach of your constitutional office. As Commander, Zimbabwe Defence Forces, you are personally and constitutionally liable for the mayhem occasioned by the unlawful deployment.

Normal civilian life has seriously been disrupted. Zimbabwe faces a humanitarian crisis on account of your serious constitutional breaches. The Zimbabwe Defence Forces has become terror units, not defenders of Zimbabwe.

We demand that you immediately rescind the unlawful deployment with the consequent result that all units of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces return to barracks.

Yours faithfully,

Hon Tendai Biti MP,

MDC Secretary General

CC: Commander of Zimbabwe National Army, Lieutenant V. Sibanda

Commander of the Air Force of Zimbabwe, Air Marshall P. Shiri

(Source)

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I read many reports this afternoon about the orchestrated raids on the MDC and ZESN offices in Harare, and the arrest of hundreds of people who had taken sanctuary there - only to be bussed away to parts unknown.

I also learned of the killing of a woman in Rusape and the reports that a further four people have been shot (but not fatally that I know of) in political violence.

Reports suggest that war veterans, now seconded into the ZRP with lofty ranks are working together to unsettle the MDC activists and supporters throughout the country.

The rule of law has finally broken down and the next step on the slippery slope will be civil war.

I have written about this before. And I have echoed Morgan Tsvangirai’s question to the free world. Will international intervention only transpire once there are dead bodies on the streets?

Well - guess what? We have dead bodies…. How many do they want before they do anything? The toll is approaching the one dozen mark, and that is one dozen too many already…

I also have read that the South African Democratic Alliance has proposed that a five day demand be given to the illegal Mugabe regime, that wants the Presidential election result released, the State-sponsored violence to be stopped and the ZANU PF regime to disband and relinquish power.

An admirable stand, but I fear Mugabe will dismiss the demands with disdain. And unless there is a forceful “OR ELSE” attached to the demands, the stalemate would continue.

Finally, I was also heartened to read how the MDC had organised themselves in a part of the country to resist the violent campaign against them. Sadly, it meant that in that area there were running battles with the ZANU PF forces - but that there was resistance at all is excellent.

The Zimbabwean people are no longer prepared to take strike upon strike without any retaliation or defence at least.

I continue to watch events in Zimbabwe, but hold my breath that a peaceful resolution may be reached, whilst I fully recognise that the history of Mugabe’s party dictates that a peaceful resolution will never work.

Take care.

‘debvhu

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Armed police officers raided the headquarters of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party in Harare, the capital, on Friday, detaining hundreds of opposition supporters, a spokesman for the party said.

The action appeared to be one of the most blatant crackdowns on the opposition since the disputed elections nearly four weeks ago.

The spokesman, Nqobizitha Mlilo, said in an e-mailed statement that about 200 to 250 heavily armed police officers had raided the offices of the party, the Movement for Democratic Change. Other reports put the number of police officers at “dozens.”

In a separate raid on the offices of independent election observers, the police seized vote count materials, The Associated Press reported.

The opposition’s headquarters building, called Harvest House, in downtown Harare, had become a refuge for opposition supporters fleeing what they say is widespread political violence by government forces across the country since the presidential and parliamentary elections on March 29.

“These armed police have taken hundreds of people that were now staying at the party headquarters running away from the different parts of Zimbabwe, where the regime has been unleashing brutal violence,” Mr Mlilo said in a statement.

In a later statement, the MDC said the number arrested had risen to 300 people, including all staff members.

The police searched for documents used by the opposition to support its claim it won the presidential election, and had also taken away computers, Mr Mlilo said.

A witness was quoted by Reuters as saying that dozens of riot police detained around 100 opposition supporters, loading them into a crowded police bus before taking them away.

A police spokesman said the raid was an attempt to seize people who the authorities believed had committed crimes outside Harare.

“Some of them are not office workers at all,” the police spokesman, Wayne Bvudzijena, said, according to Reuters. “We are busy screening them. There are some cases we are investigating and we will release those who have not committed any crime.”

“They took everyone in the building, including those who had come just to seek medical care,” another opposition spokesman, Nelson Chamisa, told Reuters. “They are trying to destroy evidence of their brutality,”

On Thursday, the top American envoy to Africa declared that the main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, was the “clear victor” over President Robert Mugabe in last month’s election and called on other countries - including the United States - to help solve the deepening political and humanitarian crisis there.

The diplomat, Jendayi Frazer, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said the election results, based on projections by independent monitors, removed the rationale for any negotiated settlement that left Mr Mugabe in charge, as was proposed Wednesday in an editorial in The Herald, the state-run newspaper.

“This is a government rejecting the will of the people,” Ms Frazer said, referring to the Zimbabwe electoral commission’s refusal to announce who won the March 29 presidential election. “If they had voted for Mugabe, the results would already have been announced. Everyone knows what time it is.”

The United States has deferred in recent years to South Africa, the region’s most powerful nation, to mediate between ZANU PF, Zimbabwe’s governing party, and its political rivals.

But at a news briefing on Thursday in Pretoria, South Africa’s capital, Ms Frazer said the severity of the human rights violations by state-sponsored groups against opposition supporters now required the involvement of more players: the African Union, the United Nations and other nations, including the United States.

“We can’t stand back and wait for this to escalate further,” she said.

(Source)

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The ship An Yue Jiang, loaded with weapons for Zimbabwe, is expected to dock in Lobito, Angola at midday on Friday, where activists hope it will meet the same fate as it did in Durban last week. International Transport Workers Federation’s spokesperson Sam Dawson said on Wednesday that they were “extremely confident” that the Chinese container ship was on its way to Lobito. Preparations would be made to prevent its cargo from being off-loaded by dock workers there. The Chinese ship had been spotted off the western coast of Africa, he said, but declined identify the ITFs sources, since they would be in danger of being exposed. He said the ship was sailing at 11 knots and would, by ITF calculations, be outside Lobito on Friday. Union preparations were continuing to block attempts to unload and transport the cargo “and any attempt to do so will be met by the strongest possible trade union response”. The ITF has two affiliates in Angola.

Last week the An Yue Jiang lifted anchor in Durban harbour as it was about to receive a court interdict impounding its arsenal of weapons and ammunition. The interdict was obtained by legal and church activists. Cape Town Archbishop Thomas Makgoba has said the Anglican Church will be in touch with religious bodies in Namibia and Angola to explore “ecumenical action” to prevent the cargo from being off-loaded. A western diplomatic source in Luanda said Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos had sent a letter on Sunday to his Zimbabwean counterpart, Robert Mugabe. The content of the letter was not officially disclosed. But an Angolan external relations ministry official, who requested anonymity, said this week that the Angolan government would not issue authorisation for the ship to dock in any of the country’s ports. “Given the ongoing volatile political situation in Zimbabwe, we believe we need to approach this issue very carefully,” he said. The official refused to confirm whether the vessel or the Chinese authorities had asked for permission, noting Angola was still following the issue in the international media.

Dawson confirmed that the ITF had been in touch with the An Yue Jiang’s owner, Cosco, on Wednesday and had suggested to them that the proper course to take would be to return to China. Cosco replied that the request “would be going through our channels”. This contradicts statements by Chinese authorities that the ship had been recalled. Cosco, like most Chinese companies, is part-owned by the Chinese government, but China’s foreign ministry has said it will not interfere in what it called a normal commercial transaction. Sources said they expected an announcement on a recall would be made by Cosco itself, rather than the Chinese government, even though the order might be given by the latter. The Chinese embassy in Pretoria has not responded to a list of questions on the matter. On Wednesday at 6pm, Steve Olley of the Maritime Intelligence Unit of Lloyds, which runs a 24-hour tracking operation, said it had been in the dark over the ship’s whereabouts since 5pm on Tuesday, when it was 25 nautical miles off Cape Town. Either the ship had switched off its transponder, or it had sailed so close to the shore that the signal might have been blocked, he said.

(Source)

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Robert Mugabe’s regime signalled early today that it is willing to share power with Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change - but only with Mr Mugabe still in charge.

The state-owned Herald newspaper, a government mouthpiece, said the only way out of the political crisis was a government of national unity.

It said Mr Mugabe, 84, would have to remain as the head of state. But the MDC, which insists Morgan Tsvangirai won the presidential elections last month, has ruled out participation in such a government.

The article, written by Mugabe loyalist Dr Obediah Mukura Mazombwe, calls for the Southern African Development Community (SADC), made up of Zimbabwe’s neighbours and “friendly nations” to help create “a new constitution for Zimbabwe, which would be adopted only after a national referendum”.

“In collaboration with SADC and invited members of the international community, [the unity government] should hold free and fair elections.”

The article claims that independent observers consider the recent elections “harmonised” but laments they did not produce an outright winner, adding that “it is unlikely that the ongoing recount will substantively alter that position. Accordingly, it stands to reason that the transitional government of national unity, negotiated by the two leading contending parties, under the mediation of SADC, supported by the international community, should be led by the incumbent president.”

The “offer” appears to be Mr Mugabe’s political manoeuvring at its finest, while at the same time acknowledging Kenya’s recent post-election solution. It would allow him to marginalise the MDC over time, while a call for new elections organised by the SADC and “friendly nations” is code for friends of Mr Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF.

Nonetheless, the fact that the subject is being discussed in the columns of a government propaganda sheet is a sign that more than three weeks after the election, the Zimbabwean authorities are feeling under pressure.

The US yesterday pressed China to halt a shipment of weapons to Zimbabwe and stop further sales amid mounting international concern about the deliveries.

China said earlier that the An Yue Jiang “may return to China” if it was not allowed to unload its cargo, but insisted that the vessel was “engaged in perfectly normal trade”.

Church leaders in Zimbabwe called for international intervention against ZANU PF national terror campaign.

(Source)

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China on Tuesday defended a shipment of weapons headed for Zimbabwe as “perfectly normal trade” but said it may be heading back because the ship was unable to unload.

Zambia’s president urged regional states on Monday to bar the An Yue Jiang from entering their waters, saying the weapons could deepen Zimbabwe’s election crisis.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the contract for the shipment was signed last year and was “unrelated to recent developments” in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe announced a delay on Sunday in a partial recount of votes in March 29 parliamentary elections, extending a deadlock in which the opposition says 10 of its members have been killed and hundreds arrested.

The opposition says its leader Morgan Tsvangirai won presidential elections also held on March 29, and that President Robert Mugabe is attempting to cling to power by delaying declaring the result.

Jiang said the arms shipment was “perfectly normal trade in military goods between China and Zimbabwe”, but because it was impossible for Zimbabwe to receive the goods, the company involved is now considering shipping the cargo back.

The 300,000-strong South African Transport and Allied Workers Union refused to unload the weapons because of concerns Mugabe’s government might use them against opponents in the post-election stalemate.

Mozambique did not allow it to enter its waters.

For its part, China is trying to prevent the controversy from fuelling criticism over its human rights record and rule in Tibet ahead of hosting the Olympics in August. Sometimes-violent protests have followed the Olympic torch across the globe.

(Source)

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ZNU 117 released. In today’s programme I look at the presence of a Chinese ship loaded with weapons for Mugabe in Durban harbour, moving on to Maputu in Mozambique - or elsewhere. I also look at the recount that started on Saturday morning, and the violence being meted out on the MDC supporters. And I question why SADC has given Mbeki another mandate to mediate in negotiations once again - when he is incapable of an impartial view.The show can be heard in the player below, or in the multiplayers in the right hand side bar. It can also be heard here or even downloaded from here.

All of my previous programmes are available for playing on my Odeo page.

Thank you for your continuing support of my podcast endeavours.

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