Links ~ 7 September 2008

Mugabe Ready to Engage West (RadioVop)
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe is ready to engage the Western community over the country’s political crisis, Deputy Information Minister, Bright Matonga revealed to RadioVOP Saturday. This follows mounting international pressure on Mugabe after power sharing talks stalled, owing to his refusal to cede power to Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Royal bash a contrast to poverty of nation (JournalNowcom)
[...] Visiting heads of state were whisked into the stadium in a long convoy of luxury cars, bought specially for the occasion. The loudest cheer was reserved for Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who climbed out of a car with a “Zimbabwe” license plate to a standing ovation. The 84-year-old autocrat is popular in the region because he is seen as standing up to the West. [...] Mswati [the Swazi King] is Africa’s last absolute monarch. He is widely revered, but there is anger about the luxurious lifestyle practiced by him and his 13 wives.

Tsvangirai misses meeting in Mbabane (The Zimbabwe Times)
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai failed to attend a preparatory discussion held on Saturday in Mbabane, Swaziland, ahead of the final round of inter-party power-sharing talks scheduled for Monday in Harare. Zanu-PF leader Robert Mugabe in Mbabane to witness King Mswati’s 40th birthday bash, attended. MDC officials said Tsvangirai had not attended Saturday’s meeting believing it would only be of a technical nature to appraise the newly sworn-in chair of the SADC troika on Politics, Defence and Security, Mswati III, on the status of the Zimbabwean talks.

Mugabe aides hold secret talks to gain immunity (The Observer)
Some of President Robert Mugabe’s senior aides have had secret negotiations with South African mediators in an effort to secure amnesties from any future prosecution in return for supporting regime change in Zimbabwe. Army, police and secret service chiefs have repeatedly pledged loyalty to Mugabe in public and insisted that they would never ’salute’ or support a government led by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, the head of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who secured most votes in the presidential election that took place in March this year. But government sources in both Zimbabwe and South Africa have told The Observer that a senior army general and a Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) chief visited Pretoria last weekend to seek assurances from South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki that they would not be prosecuted in the event of Tsvangirai taking over.

Zanu PF Old Guard Unhappy With Tsholotsho Pardon (RadioVop)
Fresh intra party fighting within the ruling Zanu PF has resurfaced in Bulawayo, following the party’s decision to lift the suspension of all the provincial chairpersons accused of participating in the infamous Tsholotsho debacle.[...] “The political leadership in Bulawayo is very angry over Mutasa’s statements that the whole Tsholotsho saga was a farce. “[...] By announcing such a decision - Mutasa is implying that Nkomo has a case to answer and that those guys were right. Ironically, the fate of these chairpersons was supposed to be announced by Nkomo who chairs the party’s national displinary committee not Mutasa,” said one senior Bulawayo based ruling party official.

When getting food becomes a preoccupation overriding other human rights (Canadafreepress)
During [the 1980s] nobody prioritized food. It was just there in abundance. It was unheard of to have breakfast without eggs, sausage and bacon. Beef, fish, beans among other delicacies constituted people’s daily diets. Now 28 years after the country was liberated to become Zimbabwe (in local language Zimbabwe means “house of stones”), the house is collapsing on its inhabitants. Employee’s salaries can only buy a bar of soap or three loaves of bread. Formal employment has been reduced to a circus.

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