Links ~ 15 June 2008

Mugabe says ready to hand power to a party faithful (Reuters)
Robert Mugabe said that he was willing to hand over power to a Zanu-PF ally when he was sure that the country was safe from “sell-outs” and British interference. Mugabe did not give a specific date when he would “retire” and instead vowed to stop the MDC from ending his rule. Mugabe has urged Zanu-PF supporters to concentrate on defending Zanu-PF land nationalisation and its black economic empowerment policies. “We are the custodians of Zimbabwe’s legacy. We will pass this on to those we know are fully aware of the party’s ideology, those who value the country’s legacy,” Mugabe said.

Zanu PF Sets Up Terror Bases In Harare (The Standard)
Harare residents claim that terror bases have been set up in high-density suburbs. The MDC alleged that there are at least 2 terror bases for each constituency in Harare and Chitungwiza. Terror campaigns have been launched in Dzivarasekwa, Mbare, Sunningdale, Epworth, Mabvuku-Tafara and Chitungwiza. Zanu-PF calls the bases “information centres”. It appears that there is some sort of agreement of co-operation between the police and the militia stationed at the terror bases. Zanu-PF is conducting a door-to-door campaign in Harare, intimidating residents and instructing them to vote for Robert Mugabe. Zanu-PF has specifically called house cleaners and gardeners to attend meetings where they are told to demand minimum salaries of $100 billion and if they were fired over such demands, they could report it to the war veterans.

PM says the world needs to unite on Mugabe’s war threats (The Age / AAP)
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia called on the international community and the southern African nations to take a stand and prevent Robert Mugabe from stealing the Zimbabwe election. “It’s important that the international community of nations, including the African Union and the South African Development Community, speak with one voice about the importance of democracy and the will of the people prevailing in Zimbabwe,” said Rudd. Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith said that it is his feeling that “the brutal Mugabe regime won’t accept the will of the Zimbabwe people.” Smith said that Australia would take further action if necessary. He said that it was however the primary responsbility of the Southern African Development Community and the African Union increase pressure on the brutal Mugabe regime.

MDC claims government restricting movement of election observers (SWRadio)
The MDC claims that the movement of election observers have been restricted by the Zimbabwean government. It is alleged that election observers have to start work after 8h00 and return to their hotels, no later than 17h00 or else their safety will not be guaranteed. Professor Elphas Mukonoweshuro said that it was a serious contravention of SADC guidelines to restrict observers’ freedom to move around. The SADC has begun deploying observers in Zimbabwe and on Thursday, last week there were more than 100 observers already deployed. It is expected that come polling day, more than 400 observers would be deployed. Mukonoweshuro who is the MDC MP elect for Gutu South said that observers should pinpoint flashpoints of violence and make some effort to visit those areas. ‘We need the observers out there now. It is a serious situation and we are shocked SADC are not taking this seriously. We do not need more of this madness from Zanu-PF,’ Mukonoweshuro added.

Govt Intensifies Clampdown On Private Newspapers (The Standard)
The delivery of the Mail & Guardian and The Sunday Times were blocked at the Beitbridge border post and R20 000 duty was demanded for one of the publications. Amendments to the Customs and Excise tariffs have raised duty on foreign publications to 40% per kg of the total weight. The Zimbabwean government said that the move was necessary to “protect the Zimbabwean media space.” Raphael Khumalo Group CEO of The Standard and the Zimbabwe Independent said that it was a deliberate move on the part of the Zimbabwean government to stop weekly newspapers from South Africa being brought into the country. Sources said that The Standard and the Zimbabwe Independent were amongst some of the newspapers specifically targeted by the Joint Operations Command (JOC).

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