Links ~ 20 June 2008
June 21st, 2008
Zimbabwe opposition asks voters to end Mugabe rule (AP)
MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai has called on his supporters to vote in next week’s presidential run-off election despite the “wave of brutality†unleashed by Zanu-PF on MDC officials and supporters.
“Help us to remind our people that they are winners. That their courageous decision on 29 March was not in vain,” Tsvangirai said. “Help us encourage them to vote again for change on 27 June. Help us to protect them from the regime’s attempt to destroy their hope.â€
“On 27 June, let’s finish it!”
Withdrawing not the answer – MDC (news24.com)
MDC Secretary for Legal Affairs Innocent Gonese told AFP that Zimbabweans have been subjected to blatant acts of violence and intimidation and the MDC has been prevented from campaigning to the disappointment of its supporters. Gonese said that, “People are saying despite all that we should not withdraw and we also believe withdrawing will not solve anything.” MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai said to supporters on Friday, “If we fall into despair or disarray, my friends, the regime will have succeeded in its evil machinations to divide and discourage us,”
Nelson Chamisa spokesperson for the MDC said that there were people in the MDC who now want the MDC to pull out of the upcoming presidential run-off election. They say that Mugabe will not give up power and so there would be no point in participating in the election.
MDC leader ‘may withdraw from Zimbabwe poll’ (Inthenews –UK)
Nelson Chamisa spokesperson for the MDC has told Reuters news agency: “There is a huge avalanche of calls and pressure from (MDC) supporters across the country, especially in the rural areas, not to accept to be participants in this charade.” Morgan Tsvangirai leader of the MDC has admitted that he may be forced to withdraw because of the escalating violence in Zimbabwe. He is expected to make a decision on whether he will withdraw on Monday.
Msika backtracks over war threats (SWRadio)
Zimbabwe vice-president Joseph Msika has backtracked on earlier threats to take up arms if Mugabe was defeated in the upcoming run-off election. Msika was supposed to address a rally in Kuwadzana, which was cancelled at the last moment due to the poor turnout of Zanu-PF supporters. Msika had to be content with delivering his speech to just the Zanu-PF district officials.
It would seem that Msika was rather annoyed with the situation and reportedly said that if they couldn’t arrange a rally, how on earth do they want to successfully arrange for people to go ‘back to the bush’ (go to war). Even more surprising, Msika then, wanted to know why would war veterans want to go to the bush. ‘Who are you going to fight. Who is the enemy because no one has threatened us (government)? Tsvangirai doesn’t have an army, so by going back to war we are actually going to be fighting our own people.’ With that, he left his audience… stunned.
Mugabe Rejects Mbeki Plan to Delay Zimbabwe Election (Bloomberg.com)
Zanu-PF’s Robert Mugabe has rejected South African President Thabo Mbeki’s proposal to cancel the upcoming presidential run-off election and to form an interim government with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Sources said that Mugabe had in part rejected the proposal in anger against Mbeki, for meeting with MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai.
Robert Mugabe says ‘only God’ can remove him (Telegraph – UK)
Robert Mugabe vowing that the MDC will never be allowed to rule the country said, “Only God who appointed me will remove me, not the MDC, not the British.” Mugabe was addressing a group of business people in Bulawayo. The MDC however seems to be considering whether to contest the June 27 run-off election. Nelson Chamisa spokesperson of the MDC had said that supporters were pressurising the MDC to pull out. Innocent Gonese legal secretary for the MDC said that supporters wanted them to go on and that the MDC believed that “withdrawing will not solve anythingâ€. Morgan Tsvangirai President of the MDC had on Friday, in an e-mail to supporters, appealed to them to go and vote on June 27. “If we fall into despair or disarray, my friends, the regime will have succeeded in its evil machinations to divide and discourage us,” he said.
Division in Mugabe’s poll team on reaction to a defeat (Business Day)
A senior Zanu-PF official has disclosed that there are deep divisions within Zanu-PF’s ranks. There are fears that should Mugabe be defeated it would create room for the army to take power. Some officials feel that Mugabe should go peacefully and others say that Mugabe should fight back by whatever means.
Namibian defence forces head on an official visit to Zimbabwe (Afrik.com)
Namibia’s defence forces chief, Lieutenant-General Martin Shalli has arrived in Zimbabwe on Friday for a 4-day visit to the country. Shalli will hold discussions with the top Zimbabwean military officials during that time. Namibia has remained neutral towards the crisis in Zimbabwe and backs the mediation efforts of South African president Thabo Mbeki. “The Namibian government’s position is very clear. It is not in our interest as Africa to interfere in another African country’s internal affairs,” Shalli said.
U.S. Ambassador Slams Zimbabwe’s Ruler (CBS)
US Ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee said that Robert Mugabe is essentially governing illegally and that Mugabe was being untruthful when he says that Zanu-PF is not behind the bloodshed in the country. “I have witnessed with my own eyes the victims of violence, and any attempt by the government to claim that it’s the result of opposition activity is simply a lie,” said McGee. He told CBS News that according to national law, the parliament was dissolved before the March 29 elections and was never reinstated. Mugabe and his ministers “have never been appointed by any parliament,” said McGee. “At a basic level, there is no government of Zimbabwe.”
EU to Impose Further Sanctions on Zimbabwe (eFluxMedia)
The European Union (EU) may be considering imposing further and tougher sanctions on “those responsible for violence†in Zimbabwe. A recent draft statement issued by the EU again stated that a peaceful and fair presidential run-off election was needed on June 27. The EU warned that it was ready “to take additional measures†against the perpetrators of violence. EU sanctions in place against Zimbabwe include an arms embargo, visa bans, and the freezing of assets of more than a hundred Zanu-PF officials and Robert Mugabe.
The personal stories from Zimbabwe’s ‘map of terror’ (Sokwanele activist)
Sokwanele’s “Map of Terror” features more than 1300 individual confirmed cases of political violence perpetrated against Zimbabwean civilians. The number of recorded cases possibly only reflects a small part of the widespread campaign aimed at MDC officials and supporters. The writer – a Sokwanele activist – delves behind the limitations of the case testimonies and reveals that beyond the icons on a map, there are people – decent people who have lost ‘absolutely everything they have in the world’.
‘We feel so abandoned. We need a rescue’ (Guardian – UK)
Human rights monitors confirm that observers from the South African Development Community (SADC) are meeting with victims and have witnessed incidents where youth militia were threatening people with axes and sticks. The question arises however with the support given to Mugabe by certain SADC leaders… would the reports reflect what observers have seen and how long will it take for those reports to be known? With the number of victims growing every day, the lucky ones are those who are still alive.
June 21st, 2008 15:41
Amnesty International Canada has launched a petition asking the governments of Angola, Namibia, South Africa and Mozambique to intervene to protect the future and well-being of the Zimbabwean people. It needs your voice. To join in this appeal go to http://www.amnesty.ca
June 21st, 2008 17:46
Re: Namibian defence forces head on an official vist to Zimbabwe:-
Lieutenant-General Martin Shalli may have experience in military affairs, but he appears very naive and wrong-headed in this instance, when he says that it is not in his country’s interest to interfere in another African country’s internal affairs. He must by now realise, as many African leaders, and former heads of state and men of authority know, that Zimbabwe’s crisis has now reached such an impasse, both in relation to African interests in general, as well as South African interests in particular, that African Union countries simply can no longer just make toothless utterances from the sidelines.
This time, a stand really has to be made against Mugabe. Not only does the AU have the power to send enough obervers to the rural areas as well as the urban areas to set the stage as far as is humanly possible for a free and fair voting procedure, they also have the power to put together a standing army which can be flown in to do peacekeeping work during and after election day. If they were to wash their hands of their responsibility to do these things, and to simply sit on the sidelines and allow Mugabe to act like he is invincible even in Africa, the message this would send to any all despots waiting in the wings would be loud and clear, and the African Union itself would be for ever more a complete non-entity, and would never have any influence or meaning ever again.