News Page 3
Pages 1 & 2 are rather full, and do
take a long time to scroll down,
so here is the next page.
Thanks for taking the time to read it.
Wednesday 6th September 2000
As usual, I have been having a hard time
updating due to power cuts. I only have a few hours per night when I can do
this, and that is usually the time the power goes off. This is just a
brief note to ask you to look at some photographs I took in the city centre today.
Please be patient while they load. I
will be out prowling again tomorrow for more.
Some time ago, the Commercial Farmers Union
decided to take the unlawful acquisition of farms to the courts. A few weeks
back, when it appeared that the President and the Police Force were actually
starting to so something about the war vets, the CFU withdrew it’s case. It
felt that as long as there was a chance at peaceful dialogue, there was no need
to go to the courts. It seems that the CFU has now realised that dialogue is
non-existent, and is not likely to solve the problems. Tim Henwood, the CFU
president said yesterday that the CFU had decided to take the farm occupations
issue to the Supreme Court. Henwood said the CFU would help individual farmers
challenging the governments plan to take their land. Massive lists have been
published, of farms to be acquired for resettlement, and the banks say there
will be no finance available to the affected farmers. “This is why the CFU has
to return to the Supreme court to represent all farmers affected by the
governments decision to acquire compulsorily over 3000 commercial farms” said
Henwood. Farm invasions continue, despite the attempts of the CFU. It will be
interesting to see the developments on this one, and I will certainly be
watching for them.
The Minister of Home Affairs, John
Nkomo (the man who initially ordered the war vets to be removed from the
properties surrounding Harare, and was wrapped on the knuckles for it), denied,
in Parliament, that there was any breakdown of the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
Nkomo said the fact that there had been some cases of criminality and disorder “here
and there” cannot be a justification to conclude that there is a breakdown of
the rule of law !!!! I wonder if he’s living in the same country as me, or am I
imagining everything that’s been going on since February ? He was questioned in
Parliament on all sorts of things, and from the report I read, spent the answer
time dodging the issues. It came out that we have members of our Police Force
in Kosova and East Timor. The government was also considering sending another
20 men to Bosnia. They are all part of a peace-keeping mission organised by the
UN. I am all for peace-keeping mission, but when our Police Force is totally
inept at keeping the peace on our home ground, doesn’t it seem strange that we
are sending men overseas ? We continually here the complaint that we do not
have enough manpower in the Police Force.
Friday 8th September 2000
The newspapers lead with a story on
supplementary budget requirements. At yesterday’s parliamentary session, all 57
members of the MDC walked out, after The Minister of Finance, Simba Makoni,
announced that he was tabling a supplementary budget of Zim $ 35 billion. To
show their displeasure, to a man they walked out. Most of the money is to go to
Defense, which needs an estimated $ 6 billion, Vote of Credit ??????? (anyone
want to explain what this is ?) which needs $ 10 billion, & Education,
Sports & Culture, which needs $ 10 billion. As of July 2000, the Budget
deficit was 16,9 percent of Gross Domestic Product, well above the 3,8 percent
originally budgeted for. The government is now unable to service it’s debt, and
has accumulated arrears of about US $154 million on government loans as of
August 2000. The interest alone on our debt is expected to be $ 55,4 billion.
If this is the interest, how much is the actual debt ? The mind boggles.
Almost 400 farm workers planned a march
to ZanPF headquarters here in Harare, but riot police stopped them from
entering the city. These are the farm workers from the farms that were cleared
of war vets 2 weeks ago. The farms have since been re-invaded, with our President’s
blessing, and the farm workers wanted to protest about this. Their future is so
uncertain at the moment. If they are turned off the farms, they have no-where
else to go. Richard Thorn, who leases one of the farms from the Zimbabwe
Tobacco Association, said he had no choice but to stop farm operations since
the invasion by the war vets. Without crops, he has no money to pay the farm
workers. They decided on a peaceful march. All they wanted to do was speak to
an official of ZanuPF and explain their plight. They were not carrying weapons
of any kind. Police armed with teargas launchers marched them back out of town
and would not let them near ZanuPF headquarters. It is their civil right to be
heard, but, as usual, no-one is listening.
I am getting so tired of talking and
talking, to all and sundry (here on the web & everywhere I go). It seems
the whole nation just TALKS about the problems facing us. The man in the street
talks non-stop about how the powers that be are not helping us at all. Leaders
of commerce and industry talk non-stop about the effects of our current
situation on the economy. Parliament talks non-stop, debating the current
issues. Government ministers talk non-stop on their plans to restore this
country to it’s former glory. The war vets talk non-stop about their plans to
have and hold all the commercial farms. But the war vets are the only ones who
are actually doing something, even though what they are doing is totally
illegal.
It seems that TALKING is the only thing
that’s happening here. IT IS TIME FOR ACTION.
Saturday 9th September 2000
I would like to copy in an email I
received today. I don't know if it is fact, but it is interesting. I will try
to establish whether it is true or not. If any of you folk in the US know,
please let ME know. Thanks.
Mugabe served
with papers at Harlem church
by GRAHAM
RAYMAN
Staff Writer
The widow of a rival party leader beaten
and burned to death with gasoline in April, and four other victims of the
recent political strife in the African nation of Zimbabwe, filed a lawsuit in
U.S. District Court in Manhattan against President Robert Mugabe, accusing him
of "orchestrating and directing” a campaign of terror as head of his
political party.
Mugabe, in New York for the United
Nations Millennium Summit, was served with the lawsuit at the Mount Olivet
Baptist Church in Harlem Thursday night, where he spoke to a supportive crowd
of more than 4,000. Two senior aides are also named in the lawsuit, which seeks
millions in monetary damages.
Earlier on Thursday, the U.S. Justice
Department, at the behest of the State Department, tried to block the
plaintiffs from serving the legal papers on Mugabe, arguing that he has
immunity from service and it would have violated treaties to have Secret
Service agents serve him. Under court rules, service of the papers must be made
in person.
U.S District Court Judge George Daniels
initially ordered the U.S. Secret Service to serve Mugabe, but after hours of
argument Thursday, he reversed his position, forcing the plaintiffs to hire a
private process server, lawyers said.
Neither Daniels nor the State Department
returned phone calls. Through a spokesman, the Justice Department declined to
comment.
Emmanuel Gumbo, a spokesman for the
Zimbabwe Mission to the UN, said he was not aware of the lawsuit and could not
comment.
Based on the Alien Tort Claims Act, the
lawsuit takes the same legal strategy as the case against Radovan Karadzic, the
Bosnian Serb leader accused of war crimes that resulted Aug. 10 in a
$745-million verdict. A similar lawsuit was filed Sept. 1 against former
Chinese Premier Li Peng, accusing him of human rights violations in the
Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.
The lawsuit is another hurdle for the
76-year-old African leader, who has been in office for 20 years. Since January,
he has lost a referendum that would have extended his term of office, and has
been accused of looting his nation's treasury to buy luxury hideaways and of
backing bloody takeovers of nearly 1,000 white-owned farms by black war
veterans.
The U.S. Senate is weighing the passage
of the Zimbabwe Democracy Act, which accuses the government and Mugabe's
ZANU-PF party of "deliberate and systematic violence, intimidation and
killings.” The bill proposes cutting off aid to the Central African nation,
which has a population of 11.1 million.
Four of the five plaintiffs in the
lawsuit were active in MDC, an opposition party formed in January of this year,
which was mounting a challenge to ZANU-PF's dominance of the government, the
lawsuit said. The lawsuit claims Mugabe made inflammatory statements against
MDC, stating it was an enemy of his party and its supporters would be dealt
with accordingly.
Adella Chiminya Tachiona, 34, is the
widow of Tapfuma Chiminya Tachiona, MDC's youth organizer, who was killed April
15 while campaigning. Tachiona was beaten unconscious with metal bars, boots
and fists by ZANU-PF supporters, doused with gasoline and set on fire, the
lawsuit alleges.
Elliott and Efridah Pfebve's brother Metthew,
an MDC candidate, was injured in several attacks before he was dragged from his
house during an attack by about 300 ZANU-PF supporters, beaten and found
mutilated and naked on a road April 29, according to the complaint. Pfebve, the
suit alleges, was tortured at a primary school turned "torture camp,”
which was run by a former soldier who is a member of Mugabe's party.
Evelyn Masaiti, another plaintiff and MDC
candidate, alleges she was punched, burned by a gasoline bomb and forced from
her house, which was torched, all by ZANU-PF supporters. The fifth plaintiff,
Maria Del Carmen Stevens, is the widow of farmer David Yendall Stevens, who was
kidnaped April 15 by ZANU-PF supporters and war veterans, beaten, forced to
drink diesel oil and shot to death, according to the complaint.
In the Harlem speech, Mugabe vigorously
defended himself, asserting that Britain under Tony Blair reneged on agreements
that it would buy out white landowners. He said his nation's last white head of
state, Ian Smith, is still alive. "If I was a vengeful leader, would he be
walking the earth?” he said.
His statements found largely sympathetic
ears in the politically diverse crowd, which included Nation of Islam leader
Louis Farrakhan and City Council members Bill Perkins and Archie Spigner.
"It clarified for me the distortion
of what was going on,” Perkins said, referring to the land reform issue.
"One got the impression from the mainstream media that he was perpetrating
genocidal, or anti-white slaughter, when frankly it was quite the opposite.
It's not about hate. This is about deeds that were done to people long ago that
are being addressed.”
Wednesday 13th September
Power cuts for the last few days ! and
it went off again at 6 this morning – so I am REALLY having a bad-hair day ! We
left home at 7.15 am, and it had not come on.
There has been quite a lot happening in
the last few days. I had emails from my friend Nan in the US confirming the
story on Mugabe being sued. We will all be watching this to see how it turns
out.
The MDC headquarters in Harare was
bombed on Monday night, exactly (to the day) a year after the party was formed.
Luckily no one was injured. They think it was a hand-grenade that went off. It
is just one more part of the terror campaign that we have all been subjected to
over the last few months. The Headquarters is in Fife Avenue, just a few blocks
from the city centre. If the perpetrators think they are going to silence the
cry for “change” with a hand grenade, they are wrong. The MDC leadership, and
it’s followers have suffered far worse than this since February.
I mentioned the supplementary budget
requirements, and the fact that the MDC walked out of Parliament the other day.
Well, the budget supplement was approved, and the taxpayer is going to suffer,
as usual.
I would like to talk about the effect
the "farm acquisitions" is having on our economy. I would like you
all to think with your heads instead of your hearts, as I do when it comes to
the farm issue. If we view each farm as a BUSINESS we can put things into
perspective.
Yes, 3000 farms are being acquired by
our Government for resettlement. Yes, the Government promised (when it came
into power 20 years ago) to resettle folk who needed land. Yes, there is a need
for a fair land redistribution. But the bottom line is,
3000
COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES ARE CLOSING DOWN ! !
These 3000 commercial enterprises
employ approximately 300 000 farm workers. They not only employ these workers,
but they house and feed most of them and their families. These workers will
find themselves unemployed, and with no housing.
Another 5000 plus businesses around the
country either supply, or are supplied by, the 3000 commercial enterprises that
are closing down. How many of these 5000 businesses will survive, is impossible
to guess at, but we are already seeing the ripple effect around the country.
Many farm-related industries are laying off staff, or closing down altogether.
National Foods, one of the two biggest millers in the country, in their half
yearly report, showed a dramatic loss, which they said is a direct result of
the farm invasions.
The 3000 commercial enterprises that
are closing down, bring in more than half of Zimbabwe’s Forex earnings. Without
forex we can longer buy fuel, or import goods or electrical power from our
neighbours. We are already feeling the effect of this in a big way.
I would like now to move on to the
Health Sector, which has broken down completely. We are fast running out of
drugs of all kinds, and the situation is said to be critical. The drug shortage
is affecting all hospitals. Our Government hospitals are in a shambles. There
is a report in today’s paper of the Maternity wing of our Government hospital
being closed down. A young woman died there at the weekend from a loss of
blood. Equipment used to administer intravenous fluids was faulty. Doctors have
said it is no longer safe to deliver babies at the hospital. All patients have
been transferred to Harare Hospital, which is itself, operating without basic
drugs and necessary facilities. The hospital has no drip needles, drip fluids
or gloves. The laboratories have been operating without blood testing
facilities. When will this mess end ?
I would like to comment on an email I
received from the US. A very frank young black man emailed and asked if I was
just seeing the picture in Zimbabwe from a white point of view. He had heard
what Mr Mugabe had said to the people of Harlem last weekend. He felt sure that
the black population did not see things the way I did. Well, I emailed him
back. Yes, I am white, and I did state when I started this website that I would
be telling how it is affecting ME in my every day life. I quoted book, chapter
& verse on all the references I have used when discussing Zimbabwe. I
mentioned our Independent newspapers, who are staffed by black folk, their
editors and reporters are mostly black, and of course I mentioned the MDC, the
majority of which is black. To me, the issue here is not a black/white issue
but the ZanuPF leadership has turned it into one. They had to find a scapegoat
to excuse 20 years of mismanagement, and of not fulfilling the promises they
made to the people when they were elected in 1980. The land issue has been used
to promote popularity for ZanuPF, and to garner votes. They realised the full
force of the MDC at the referendum in February. They were certain of the
"Yes" vote when the referendum was held, and I think they must have
got the shock of their lives when the people said a thunderous "NO
!". They had been so complacent for so many years.
Of course there are racists in
Zimbabwe, and there ARE white folk who are seeing this as a black/white issue,
but they are in the minority. To me, the whole issue in a nutshell is
"Dictatorship vs Democracy".
I asked one of the managers here at
work, a black guy, to explain the traditional way of governing, according to
tribal law. He said that is was traditional to obey the elders. For centuries,
this unwritten law has been followed by the black people of Africa. The village
headman is the law, and above him are the chiefs, the Council of Chiefs, and
the King. But as he explained, in the traditional way, the village headman, and
the chiefs, care for their people. They do not TAKE at the expense of their
people. Their people are their children, and they love and protect them as
fathers. The villagers love and respect their headmen and chiefs. He said that
the black population of Zimbabwe had finally realised that the ZanuPF
leadership does NOT care about the plight of the people. The leadership, he
said, has accumulated great wealth, none of which has been used to the benefit
the people. He said that for many years now, the people have been afraid of
ZanuPF, and afraid to show their displeasure with the government. The MDC had
showed them that change IS possible, that democracy is possible, and that a new
government is possible.
I have been watching BBC and Sky on the
fuel crisis in the UK. I hope that soon clears itself up. Our fuel situation
seems to have eased slightly. People are still having to queue (some-one I know
queued for 3 ½ hours yesterday), but we are getting the fuel in dribs and
drabs. We do not make any unnecessary journeys at all. How reliant on fuel we
are !
I am discouraged by our situation, but
will continue to continue ! How else can I put it ? Thanks for the emails, they
always lift the spirit. I am going to end today with a letter to the Editor,
printed in this morning’s Daily News. I had a chuckle when I read it, but our
situation here is not really funny at all.
Letter to the
Editor
Below are the 10 reasons that make me
proud to be a Zimbabwean:
1. Biltong (Jerkey or dried meat –
loved by all Zimbabweans - Lorraine)
2. Bohlingers (A lager beer)
3. Lake Kariba
4. Best chicks !
5. Lowest level of unemployment
(everyone is now employed in queuing for petrol).
6. The Police are the fittest in the
world – they do not believe in using cars.
7. You get 25 days’ public holidays a
year to strike.
8. A nation that prides itself on
family nights at home complete with candle-lit dinners – no power.
9. You get to kill the opposite soccer
team if they win.
10 You get to vote if you are dead
from "Just a Zimbabwean"
Harare
PS. We got home this evening to no
electricity once again. It came back on at 8.35. That's twice in one day !
Till tomorrow.
14th September 2000
Just wanted to copy in an email that I
have just received, and will be back to update later.
Interim
Statement Issued Thursday 14th September 12:30pm
In a bizarre response to Monday night's
attack on the MDC's Fife Avenue Headquarters, the police this morning raided
the party's three Harare offices. In the early hours of this morning, units of
the Zimbabwe Republic Police and members of the CID arrived at the MDC offices
in Fife Ave, Eastgate and St. Martins with warrants authorising them to search
for "arms of war - grenades, pistols, rifles and tearbombs".
No weapons of any type were found at the
various MDC premises and after a fruitless search of the Eastgate offices, CID
officials attempted to exceed the terms of their search warrant by seizing
documents dealing with party business. This move was resisted by lawyers
representing the MDC and at this time armed police are still at the Eastgate
offices while the CID applies for a new search warrant. In return the MDC has
lodged an urgent application to have the police removed from the MDC premises.
The MDC's Secretary-General, Prof.
Welshman Ncube, said he was saddened by this morning's events but not
surprised. "Over the past twenty years Zanu PF has consistently abused its
powers and used violent and unlawful means to maintain its hold on power. The
actions we have seen this morning are almost identical to the strategy employed
by the ruling party against Joshua Nkomo and his ZAPU party in 1985,"
Prof. Ncube said.
He added that the complicity of the
Zimbabwe Republic Police was an indication of the current partisan approach
being displayed by the national police force. "In a true democracy the
police do not harass the victims of a criminal attack while making no attempt
to identify and apprehend the real perpetrators of that crime", Prof.
Ncube added.
Two members of the MDC security team at
Fife Avenue have been detained and the police are also attempting to detain
further MDC members at the party's Eastgate offices.
MDC's Parliamentarians will call on
Parliament this afternoon to condemn the harassment of the MDC by the police.
In addition they will demand that the Zanu PF government brings an immediate
end to its harassment of the MDC and that the police stop acting as an arm of
the ruling party.
The MDC Information Department will
update this press release as events unfold.
Below is the Notice of Motion to be
presented in Parliament, Thursday afternoon 14th September 2000.
Notice of
Motion
Noting that offices of the MDC were
bombed by assailants, whose identity is at present unknown, on Monday night the
11th September,2000;
Noting that Police officers armed with AK
47 assault rifles raided three offices of the MDC on the 14th September, 2000,
to search for arms of war including rifles, grenades and tearsmoke canisters on
spurious and baseless grounds and found nothing of the sort;
Noting that the MDC has since its
inception committed itself to peaceful, non – violent and democratic change in
terms of the Zimbabwe Constitution and remains so committed;
Noting that on the contrary ZANU(PF) in
its 20 years in power has consistently used unlawful and violent means to
perpetuate its hold on power;
Remembering that ZANU(PF) used almost
identical strategies in 1985 against Joshua Nkomo and his ZAPU party as those
now being used against the MDC;
Cognisant that these strategies are
designed to undermine the MDC in the run up to the Presidential elections;
CALLS UPON this Honourable House to:
(A) Condemn the harassment of the MDC by
the Police;
(B) Demand that the ZANU(PF) government
bring an immediate end to the harassment of the MDC;
(C) Demand that the Police not act as an
arm of ZANU(PF) and commence upholding the rule of law and protecting innocent,
law abiding Zimbabweans and institutions forthwith.
Mover of motion: Professor Welshman Ncube
M.P.
Seconder : David Coltart M.P.
Dated at Parliament this 14th day of
September 2000.
I have also managed to put up the
promised Petition
that the Law Society handed over to the
Speaker of the House. I have yet to find out if there has been any response,
from government, to the petition.
It has been an absolute nightmare this
week, trying to work on this site ! What with power cuts, telephone problems,
server problems, it's just getting worse. We had no power again this morning -
it came on after 8.30am, and I have been waiting for it to go off tonight.
Back tomorrow.
15th September 2000
I must show you all an email I have
just received, It is a very distressing situation.
2.30 PM
Police in riot gear and carrying weapons
have forced their way into the MDC offices at Eastgate and 127b Fife Ave in
Harare.
Numbering around 20, they attempted to
break down the door leading into the Eastgate offices. Under extreme duress the
staff and volunteers at both premises have allowed the police into their
offices to avoid further damage.
The police have refused to provide
details about themselves and are not in possession of the requisite search
warrant. They are insisting on removing documents without allowing the MDC to
record details of the materials being seized.
Please protest this action by contacting
* your nearest Zimbabwean Embassy
* the Commissioner of Police: Fax: 263-4-
, Tel: 263-4-700171, Addr: P.O.Box CY34, Causeway, Zimbabwe
* the Speaker of Parliament: Fax:
263-4-252935, Tel: 263-4-252936-55, email: clerk@parlzim.gov.zw, Addr: P.O.Box
CY 298, Causeway, Zimbabwe
* the President's Office: Tel:
263-4-707091-7, Addr: Munhumutapa Building, Harare
* the Minister of Home Affairs: Tel:
263-4-703641/792774/703644, Addr: P/Bag 505D, Harare
If you have email, fax or cell phone details
for any of the above, please communicate these details to mdcweb@in2zw.com as a
matter of urgency.
Monday 18th September 2000
I have just received another email from
the MDC. As I am on their mailing list (emailing), they have just emailed me to
reassure me that the Police did not get hold of the email list of MDC
supporters. Can you believe this ? I am absolutely dumbfounded ! The fact that
I am living in a country, in this day & age, where the opposition party is
so severely persecuted, simply because it IS an opposition party, boggles the
mind ! Up to receiving this latest email, I had not even assumed there would be
any problem even if they DID get hold of the mailing list.
The Police, when they raided the
offices of the MDC on Thursday, were stopped by the MDC lawyer from removing
any documents. So they raided again on Friday, and took all the papers they
wanted, WITHOUT A SEARCH WARRANT ! The courts have since ordered them to return
all documents. Hundreds of MDC supporters marched through Harare on Saturday
morning as a protest at the Police action. I think it has got to the stage
where the Police Force, and it’s Ministry, couldn’t give a damn about the
reaction of the people, media, or international community. Come to think of it,
neither could our President or his supporters. The situation here is definitely
getting worse.
The MDC has condemned the raids,
calling them “fascist, barbaric and unnecessarily brutal.
The Police also raided the Harare
Residents Association offices. I cannot imagine what they were looking for, but
the Daily News reports that the Police received a tip-off that MDC were holding
meetings there. SO WHAT, I SAY !!!!! SO WHAT !!!! Is it a crime to hold a
political meeting, when you are a member of a recognized opposition party ? It
seems that it is in Zimbabwe. The Police did not have a search warrant, once
again, and they photocopied documents, which they removed from the premises. Is
there anyone out there who can do anything about this ? Not in Zimbabwe there
isn’t ! I am livid !
Imagine the Tories having to hold
clandestine meetings, or not feeling safe enough to speak out in public against
what they thought was an injustice. Imagine the same thing happening in the US.
One can’t imagine it, because it won’t happen. It won’t be allowed to happen.
But here, it’s happening, and nothing can be done to stop it. We are all on a
sinking ship here, and it’s going down fast. I am really beginning to doubt if
we will EVER return to even a semblance of normality, and tonight I am
seriously wondering if it’s worth trying to save it. I have been on the rampage
all day, and my staff were even telling me to calm down, but I cannot.
There is still mayhem on the farms. The
workers are now retaliating, at last (they know their livelihoods are
threatened) and the war vets are getting their just rewards on some farms. The
Police actually arrested 52 war vets for burning down farm workers houses at
Chipesa Farm outside Marondera. The owner, Iain Kaye, had fled the farm a while
back, after threats to his life. He recently returned to resume his farming
activities, and the war vets are incensed about this. The leader of the war
vets at the farm, Wilfred Marimo, had eyed Chipesa Farm for himself. On
discovering the owner had returned, he led the war vets on the rampage, and
they caused considerable damage to the workers homes & property.
What really gets to me about our
situation is that the fact that, if I’m not careful, I will begin to accept
these aberrations as normal. The power cuts are part of our life now, and as
the lights go out, we just get up and light the candles. I should be marching
outside our Electricity commission, protesting as loudly as I can. Our fuel
runs out, and I join a queue. I really don’t want to get to the stage where I
give up and accept it all. I’m fighting it with all my might, but am beginning
to wonder if it’s worth the stress.
The fuel crisis continues. I saw long
queues for diesel today. We had managed to fill our tanks last week, so that
should last a few weeks. I live 8kms from my workplace in the centre of Harare,
and if I travel only to work and back, I can stretch the tank to last 3 to 4
weeks.
That’s it for tonight, folks. Back
tomorrow.
Friday 29th September 2000
I am so sorry for not updating this last
week and a half. I had the opportunity to go away for a few days, and then we
had power cuts every time I started to update. I will be doing a full update
tomorrow, Saturday (I'm not working - my Saturday off !). Thank you all for the
emails expressing concern and wondering where I was.
Sunday 1st October 2000
The Reality of our Situation.
This innocent man, Marshall Roper, a
Karoi farmer, was told by the war veterans on his farm NOT to plant his
tobacco. He did not comply with their orders, and was attacked, and his face
was sliced with a machete. Karoi has experienced some of the worse violence on
farms since the invasions started in February. The farming community has gone
as far as writing to the Police Commissioner, Augustine Chihuri, calling on him
to restore law and order. The Commissioner has yet to respond. The invasions
continue. The lawlessness continues. How much longer can we all stand this ? I don't
know.
We have one more day's worth of fuel
left in the country. It should run out by tomorrow evening, we are told. Most
garages I passed today had none at all. I have a 1/4 of a tank left. I hope we
get some more before I run dry.
I mentioned earlier that we went away
for a few days. We went over our border to South Africa, did a few bits of
essential shopping, and had 3 nights at Tshipise, a resort 30kms from the
border town of Beit Bridge. It has a hot spring, which feeds a swimming pool.
We had a wonderful weekend, and quite honestly, I didn't want to come back.
There are a lot of folk here who say I
should stop reading the paper and worrying about what's happening ! I am NOT
the only one who can see the reality of our situation. A young friend, who
happens to be a lawyer, says he is almost ready to march the streets by
himself, carrying a plackard. Many folk are extremely worried, but none of us
know what to do.
Wednesday 11th October 2000
First of all, I need to apologise to
those of you who read this site regularly. Since I uploaded the photograph
above, I seemed to have run out of steam. I really began to ask myself if it
was all worth it – this daily worrying over Zimbabwe and it’s people. I, as an
individual, don’t seem to be making any difference, no matter what I do, and I
became so discouraged at the beginning of this month. I found myself unable to
update at all, and I am sorry. An email from Nan has encouraged me and I will
do my best to carry on with the updates. So here goes !
Firstly, on Marshall Roper, whose
picture I uploaded, he is recovering, thank the Lord, and says he will return
to his farm. What a brave man, and a brave family. No, they are not foolish.
Like the rest of us who choose to stay here, we are fighting for our survival,
and for the future of this country. Someone has to do it. If it’s left in the
hands of the government, we will all perish.
What has happened over the last 2 weeks
? Not much different to what’s been happening all these months, but certain
events do stand out and are worth commenting on.
Today’s papers headlined with the fact
that our President has declared a general amnesty for all politically motivated
crimes committed during the last few months. I am aghast. It’s called Clemency
Order No.1 of 2000, and I am going to copy it in here.
General Notice 457A of 2000.
Constitution of Zimbabwe
Clemency Order No. 1 of 2000
It is hereby notified that His Excellency
the President has made the order set out in the Schedule.
6-10-2000.
A.V.M. CHIKUMIRA
Secretary for Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs
Schedule
Clemency Order No. 1 of 2000
General Amnesty for Politically-Motivated
Crimes
Title
1. This order may be cited as the
Clemency Order No. 1 of 2000.
Pardon for politically-motivated crimes
2. A free pardon is hereby granted to
every person liable to criminal prosecution for any politically-motivated crime
committed during the period 1st January, 2000 to 31st July, 2000:
Provided that this pardon shall not apply
to any person who has committed a specified offence.
Remission of
Sentence for politically-motivated crimes
3. A remission of the whole or the
remainder of the period of imprisonment is hereby granted to every person
convicted of any politically-motivated crime committed during the period 1st
January, 2000 to 31st July, 2000: Provided that this remission shall not apply-
(a) to any habitual criminal serving a
sentence of extended imprisonment; or
(b) in the respect of any sentence for a
specified offence; or
(c) any prisoner serving a sentence
imposed by a Court Martial.
Interpretation
4. For the purpose of paragraphs 2 and 3-
"imprisonment" does not include detention imposed under the Defence
Act [Chapter 11:02]; "period of imprisonment", in relation to a
person who on or before the date of publication of this Order was subject to
two or more effective terms of imprisonment, means-
(a) where the sentences are running
concurrently, the period of the longer or longest sentence;
(b) where the sentences are not running
concurrently, the aggregate of the several sentences of imprisonment;
"politically-motivated
crime" means-
(a) any offence motivated by the object
of supporting or opposing any political purpose and committed in connection
with-
(i) the Constitutional Referendum held on
the 12th and 13th February, 2000; or
(ii) the general Parliamentary elections
held on 24th and 25th June, 2000; whether committed before, during or after the
said referendum or elections;
(a) any conspiracy, incitement or attempt
to commit any offence referred to in paragraph (a);
(b) being an accessory after the fact to
any offence referred to in paragraph (a) or (b);
"specified
offence" means-
(a) murder, robbery, rape, indecent
assault, statutory rape, theft, possession of arms and any offence involving
fraud or dishonesty;
(b) any conspiracy, incitement or attempt
to commit any offence referred to in paragraph (a);
(c) being an accessory after the fact to
any offence referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).
6-10-2000
R. G. Mugabe
President
Leader of the Opposition, Morgan
Tsvangirai has condemned the Amnesty, as do I and so many others. The thugs of
our pre-election violence can now walk away from their crimes, knowing they
have the support of the President. Most of the violence that took place was
aimed at opposition supporters, and ZanuPF committed most of the violent acts.
It seems that the President has gone beyond reason. Some of his closest
supporters are shaking their heads in disbelief. But no one seems to be able to
stop him. We are sinking further and further into the abyss of lawlessness.
Our papers are, as usual, filled with
stories of corruption in high places. Our Independent papers really get to the
bottom of a lot of dirt, and I am grateful for this. We have had government propaganda
shoved down our throats for the last 20 years, by our State-owned Herald, and
at last we are getting some really good investigative report from papers like
the Daily News and the Independent. They are seen as a real threat to the
ruling party. Their reporters are doing a marvelous job, which we tend to take
for granted as we read our morning paper. We forget the hardships they have
suffered in the last while, to get the news to us.
Another media crisis has been the shut
down of a new radio station last week. The government, who, we all know, thinks
it owns the very air we breathe, owns our airwaves. A group of individuals got
together and formed Capital radio, which started broadcasting last week. They
were allocated a frequency by our PTC. Well, the government quickly decided
they were in violation of something or other, and they tracked the broadcast
down (using sophisticated equipment to pick up the signals), raided the
premises, and stopped the station broadcasting. This was after a High court decision
that the station was not violating any law. So what did our ruling party do ?
They quickly wrote a new law last week, which now does put the station in
violation, and this will result in a lengthy battle in the courts.
Paranoia seems to be the order of the
day. The Prezzie and his men are terrified of losing their grip on us all. This
is so obvious to anyone with half a brain. A comment in the paper today
described Mugabe as an arrogant, pompous tyrant, who believes he is
indestructible and irreplaceable. That’s calling a spade a spade. But when will
our people realise that a President can only rule at the pleasure of the people
? Look at Yugoslavia last week. Are we not brave enough here to do the same
thing ? Who knows.
The economy continues to crumble.
Companies are now closing down on a daily basis, and so many people are out
looking for jobs. It is heartbreaking not to be able to help them. The
unemployment will of course lead to an upsurge in the crime rate, which we are
already seeing. On a personal note here, we were burgled on Monday night, while
we slept. (Thank goodness we didn’t wake up). All our electrical goods were
stolen. If it had a plug on it, they took it.(TV, video, decoder, microwave,
iron etc). Luckily, they did not enter the area where my computer is, or I
would not be typing this. The police said there were at least 4 of them. We are
bitterly disappointed as the cost of replacing these items in Zimbabwe is
beyond our reach, but things could have been a lot worse.
Fuel continues to be serious problem.
Prices continue to rise every day. Frustration is reaching an all time high
among so many folk. I don’t think it will take much to spark the masses into
action. We are all still awaiting mass action planned by the opposition, trade
unions and labour movements. Nothing has happened about it, but talk goes on.
I am off to Bulawayo tomorrow on
business. Bulawayo is situated in Matabeleland, the home of the N’debele
nation. (Our President and most of his followers are Shona). I will be speaking
to a lot of people, and will be taking photographs of anything I see that
should interest you. I hope to be able to update again at the weekend.
I have to continually remind myself
that "good" does eventually overcome "evil".
Bye for now.
Friday 20th October 2000
Well, I am finally able to update. So
much has been happening, and I seem to be so busy.
Frustration is growing by the day. The
masses are so angry, at so many things, and this has resulted in riots every
day this week. It started when bus fare increases were announced, and then
bread went up. People are literally starving here, and they have had enough.
There were sporadic outbursts of violence in the high-density suburbs. The
crowds grew, and before we knew it, there were full-scale riots going on. It
has been a shocking time, reminiscent of the pre-election violence. The police
and Army are trying to quell the violence with the most horrific acts of
intimidation, and they are assaulting and shooting people for no reason. We all
know they have had their instructions from above, and have obviously been
ordered to crush any opposition or complainers. This they are doing, very
successfully. Folk are terrified. The riot squads are roaring into the
high-density suburbs, firing off tear-gas, shooting indiscriminately and
creating fear everywhere they go. It is an impossible situation, just too
awful. If they see a group of people together, they fire teargas at them and
beat them as viciously as they can. Whole families have been beaten, including
children. A young 14-year-old boy was shot twice in the ankle yesterday. He is
in hospital. Groups of soldiers are bashing down the doors of homes, and
running amok through the houses, beating the families for no reason other than
to instill fear, and oppress any form of opposition to Robert Mugabe’s rule. It
is really a terrifying situation. As at today, Friday, it seems that the
disgruntled voices of our poverty-stricken population have been silenced once
again. How long they will remain silent is anybody’s guess. Our people are
suffering. They are not safe, even in their own homes. They dare not walk in
two’s or three’s. Groups of schoolchildren are even being beaten. The tear gas
has caused so many to be hospitalized. My Production Manager had to rush his
youngest daughter (who suffers from asthma) to the hospital as a result of
teargas. The Riot Police walked the length of the street where he lives, and
fired teargas canisters into any house they chose. His neighbour was an
unfortunate victim, and the gas affected my Managers family. Today’s paper is
filled with the stories of the people who have been affected by this reign of
terror. Please link to our Daily News
when you have finished here, and read some of the stories.
The Government, of course, has
announced that it believes there is a "hidden hand" behind the riots.
The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Rugare Gumbo, has announced that the
Government believes these riots were not spontaneous, but have been incited. In
defence of the actions of the Police Force he said "I would like to remind
you that any acts of lawlessness cannot be tolerated. The police cannot watch
and do nothing while these criminal acts are being committed". What does he
and the rest of the government think the Police Force have been doing for more
than 6 months. Watching and doing nothing is exactly what they have been doing
while farmers and their labourers have been murdered, terrorized and more. Does
ZanuPF it is fooling anyone ? It is not. We have all woken, like Rip Van
Winkle, from a 20-year slumber, and we now realize the gravity of our
situation. They are fooling no-one. Mugabe is ruling on borrowed time and he
knows it. His henchmen and loyal supporters are treading on a tightrope, which
is swaying very dangerously, and they all realize the position they are in.
It’s just a matter of time.
The farm invasions continue despite
reassurances from government that they will not allow new farm invasions. The
Karoi area is particularly bad, and fresh invasions have started again in the
Masvingo Province. The invasions in Masvingo are now happening on any farm, not
just the farms which the government has gazetted for acquisition. Violence
continues among war vets, farmers and farm labourers. One thing that is
different, the labourers are starting to fight back. It seems as though
everyone has had just about enough. As a nation, our nerves, our resources and
our patience have been stretched to the limit. There are a lot of hungry men out
here, and as one of my employees said today, "a hungry man is an angry
man, and we are all hungry". 75% of our population is classified as
"poor". The poverty datum line, currently pegged at Zimbabwe $
8000.00, is above the income of ¾ of our nation.
Most of our government ministries and
city councils are almost bankrupt. I think the blame lies with major
mismanagement & corruption. A little bit about our Fire & Ambulance
services. Harare City Council has only 8 ambulances, serving approximately 1.3
million people. There were 49 ambulances in 1987, but as the vehicles broke
down, they were not repaired. This was admitted by a fire officer in Harare. We
have a new fire station at Kuwadzana, but this has no ambulances or fire
tenders. Should there be a huge fire, or, God forbid, an air crash in the
Harare vicinity, we are in serious trouble.
I forgot to mention that we had a good
trip to Bulawayo and got back safely. Bulawayo is the second largest city in
Zimbabwe, and is often described as a sleepy hollow. Nothing much has changed
there for the last 20 years. The people are friendly, wonderful souls, and I
love visiting there. My daughter and her family are there, as is my youngest
son. There was a severe shortage of fuel there, but luckily we had taken fuel
with us to get back to Harare. I did take photographs, and am busy creating the
page which I will upload asap.
Back later.
Saturday 28th October 2000
Hi, all ! Where to begin ? I have been
very busy at work, working late most days, and then we have had the normal
power cuts and server problems ! Very frustrating.
I seem to have got my second wind, and
am back at it with a vengeance. I spend what time I can emailing everyone I can
think of with news on Zimbabwe. I have emailed US senators, British MPs etc, so
lets see if I can make a difference. You can all help me by doing the same
thing. I have started an emailing list, and I gathered all the email addresses
of everyone who had ever emailed me or signed my guest book. I sent them off an
email, and have had positive replies. Thank you all so much. It will be far
easier to keep you informed, especially if I have to get news out in a hurry. I
did get one email reply from a young lady in South Africa who told me NOT to
send her any more JUNK MAIL. Ah, well........
We had rioting last week. I'm sure
those of you who follow Zimbabwean news know this. Folk were so angry at price
increases. They can barely survive as it is, and then to have bread go up. It
was just too much for them. They started off having peaceful demos, but things
turned violent, and it was a week of hell ! The Police & Army really
clamped down on all and sundry, and a lot of innocent people got hurt. We have
what we call "high-density" suburbs. These suburbs are where a lot of
black people live - housing is cheaper there. The Police tear gassed anything
that moved in these suburbs and so many people were affected. A 2 month old
baby died, hundreds had to go to hospitals & clinics, it was awful. The
Police just entered houses at random, and beat up the occupants, including
children !, in an attempt to suppress them. They obviously had their orders
from the top, and were told to go in and quell the riots. This they did,
successfully, but once again at the cost of their reputation. They entered the
house of an MDC MP, beat him, his wife and children. He is suing the Police
Force, who are behaving like savages !. The police, while they were beating
him, accused him of inciting folk to riot in his area. The riots were NOT
planned. The Government seems to think there is a "hidden hand"
behind the riots, but not so. They were spontaneous cries of disappointment and
dissatisfaction from an oppressed and angry nation. Folk just don't know how to
release their frustration with our situation. I think the "bread price
increase" was the last straw, and things escalated from there.
The MDC started impeachment proceedings
against our President, but not many think that it will be a success. The
speaker of the house has to set up a committee to investigate Mugabe's
behaviour and violation of human & civil rights. I really didn't think it
would get this far, so I am very pleased that at last he may be shown to be
what he is. WE in Zimbabwe all know exactly what he is - he is a tyrant, and a
dictator, who cares nothing for the plight of his people, and will do anything
to hold on to his power. I think he must be a very frightened man at the
moment.
As soon as the impeachment proceedings
began, he made a speech on the steps of ZanuPF headquarters, saying he will revoke
the amnesty, which was given to ALL forces (after the Liberation War which
ended in 1980), and he said he will start arresting whites who had anything to
do with the Rhodesian war, from Ian Smith down. This is the wild talk of a very
frightened man. He really does think that we, the whites, are the force behind
the MDC (the opposition), and he wants to punish us for what he sees as us
turning his people against him. I cannot believe that he doesn't see the
reality. Our paper headlined the other day with a survey done by the Helen
Suzman Foundation. The survey stated that 75% of the Zimbabwean population
wants Mugabe to go. Does he think they are making up these statistics ? I
cannot fathom how his mind works. I only know that he is a very dangerous man,
and we need to be careful. Ian Smith replied to Mugabe's statement by saying
that he would welcome being arrested as it would give him the chance to show
the world what Mugabe is up to. I think the world is finally beginning to
realise exactly what he is up to ! I just hope the world reacts and puts
tremendous pressure on him before this whole country blows up in our faces.
At last, Thabo Mbeki, the South African
President, who up to now has been silent on Mugabe, has come out publicly and
said that Mugabe is in the wrong (in words to that effect). This, to me, is a
major breakthrough, but I doubt that the President will take any notice. He
acts as though he is beyond caring, but I cannot help feel that he must realise
what's going to happen. Surely he can feel the noose tightening. I'm inclined
to think so, and his rash statements and paranoia are a result of this.
I have booked us another couple of days
on the boat at Kariba. I feel we just HAVE to get away every couple of months
to escape the stress. It is very bad for all of us, I know, as we all seem to
spend our time worrying. Sometimes I feel positively ill when I think of what
has happened this year. So we are off this coming Friday, 3rd November and we
will be back the following Wednesday.
Things have not changed for our
farmers. They continue to be beaten, sometimes savagely. Since Marshall Roper's
beating, two other farmers were very seriously beaten, and their photographs
appeared in the papers. Farm labourers are also being beaten & harassed. It
just goes on and on. I'm afraid if I were a farmer I would have given up
altogether. Where do they get the courage to carry on ?
One GOOD thing that has happened - it
rained, and is still raining as I type this. That may not seem such a big deal,
but we last had rain in APRIL !!!! So our rainy season is finally back, thank
goodness. It started to rain last night, and has continued all day today, and
is still raining. (It's 8.20pm). It is the most wonderful sound !
That's it for now !
Wednesday 1st November 2000
Hi all. I have created a new page of
news (once again). It's called News Page 4. You can link to it below this.
Thanks !!
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