Links ~ 16 May 2008
POLITICS
With Zimbabwe Presidential Run-Off Date Set, Tough Campaign Looms
With June 27 set as the date for the presidential run-off, a new phase of campaigning is launched in a climate of continuing political violence. The MDC now face a six-week campaign under less than ideal circumstances due to the violence and intimidation of its supporters. Morgan Tsvangirai’s own safety is at risk and it is said that the SADC has dispatched operatives to protect him.
Mugabe warns MDC “bandits”, says they are championing violence
Robert Mugabe has accused supporters of the MDC of committing violence in villages and has warned that they “were playing a dangerous game”. These gangs and white commercial farmers have been “visiting terror on villages and party (Zanu-PF) reporters. Mugabe warned that such acts must stop immediately. Mugabe who has on a previous occasion claimed that he has “a degree in violence” said that what the country needs is peace and freedom.Police hatch postal ballot plan to aid Mugabe
A clandestine scheme has been uncovered through which police officers and their families will be voting by means of postal ballots in favour of Robert Mugabe. A document entitled: ‘Postal Voting Mechanisms’ has details of the elaborate system by which means votes will be rigged in the upcoming presidential poll. The MDC says that it will approach the courts in an effort to prevent the scheme from being implemented.
VIOLENCE
Political killings and abductions of MDC activists escalate
On Sunday, Beta Chokuruwa was brutally murdered in Murehwa. Chokuruwa was on his way to say goodbye to his mother, as he wanted to flee the country. Wednesday saw the abduction of Tonderai Ndira from Mabvuka. Ndira is the MDC’s secretary for the Harare province. Ndira’s family is extremely concerned about his safety. The MDC says that known state agents, militias, and soldiers carried out most of the attacks on MDC activists and supporters. Over 33 deaths have been reported and not a single arrest has been made.
Assaults and re-education by army not getting support for ZPF
The army is a key perpetrator of violence against innocent civilians and MDC officials. Huge gatherings, called “re-education” rallies, serve as a means to intimidate the electorate. Army units geared for violence are each assigned a youth militia group to assist with the brutal attacks launched at civilians. However, voters say that no matter the amount of violence and intimidation launched at them – they will not vote for Zanu-PF.
Zimbabwe’s Rulers Unleash Police on Anglicans
‘A policeman swung his stick in vicious arcs, striking matrons, a girl and a grandmother who had bent over to pick up a Bible dropped in the melee. A lone housewife began singing from a hymn in Shona, “We will keep worshipping no matter the trails!” Hundreds of women, many dressed in the Anglican Mothers’ Union uniform of black skirt, white shirt and blue headdress, lifted their voices to join hers…’
COURTS
Zimbabwe: Judge Defers ZCTU Leaders’ Bail Case Saying It is Too Difficult
The president and secretary general of ZCTU – Lovemore Matombo and Wellington Chibebe – will have to spend another weekend in jail, as the bail ruling on their case has been deferred to Monday. Judge Justice Ben Hlatshwayo of the High Court said that the case was “too complicated” and that he needed more time.
High Court asked to order army out of rural areas
Eric Matinenga a prominent lawyer and opposition politician has filed an urgent application with the High Court to order General Constantine Chiwenga to withdraw soldiers from the rural areas. It is widely believed that the army is guilty of violence and other human rights abuses, especially in rural areas. Major Alphios Makotore has rejected allegations that the army was spearheading violence against the opposition.
ECONOMY
Zimbabwe: Clothing Industry Hit By Staff Shortages
Silas Morgans chairman of the BCMA questions the shortage of fabric as the country has produced a good cotton crop. The BCMA would like the National Cotton Council to investigate and monitor for instance the movement of lint. It is policy that 30% of national lint should go to local spinners before export. It is suspected that this might not be the case.
XENOPHOBIA
[Opinion]
Zimbabweans in SA: Between a rock and a hard place
‘One may have thought that things couldn’t get worse for ordinary Zimbabweans, but now they have. On Sunday night anti-immigrant violence broke out in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, before spreading to Diepsloot as well…’
Exploring how “africanisation” on one level may result in “xenophobia” on another level.
May 17th, 2008 14:42
Sokwanele - If this is true…
Weapons arrive in Zim - report
http://www.24.com/news/?p=tsa&i=917273
Johannesburg - The weapons destined for Zimbabwe have arrived in Harare, The Weekender reported on Saturday.
The report said the Zimbabwean government confirmed that three million rounds of assault rifle ammunition, 3 000 mortar rounds and 1 500 rocket-propelled grenades - ordered from the Chinese government - had arrived in Harare.
The South African government denied media reports that it assisted in the delivery of the arms by fuelling the Chinese vessel, An Yue Jiang, that was transporting the arsenal.
There were fears that Robert Mugabe was planning to use force to storm back to power in the presidential run-off election to be held on June 27.
He had deployed the army, police and intelligence units across Zimbabwe to campaign for him through intimidation and coercive tactics, the report said.
The Weekender quoted a Mozambican online newspaper, which reported that the ship had been refuelled by the SAS Drakensberg off the coast of South Africa before sailing north to offload its deadly cargo.
It reported that the ship was offloaded at Ponta Negra in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, Zimbabwean government officials said it was offloaded in Angola.
The report said that President Thabo Mbeki gave “a direct instruction” to Deputy Defence Minister Mluleki George to send the SAS Drakensberg to refuel the An Yue Jiang.
Presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga dismissed the reports, saying “it seems that the season of propaganda is upon us”.
George said he had no instruction from Mbeki to dispatch the SAS Drakensberg and that the allegations had no substance.
However, the online article also said the arms were flown to Harare in an Ilyushin Il-76 belonging to Avient Aviation, a freight charter airline based in Zimbabwe but registered in the UK. This was confirmed by government officials in Harare, The Weekender said.
Zimbabwe’s Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga confirmed the weapons have been delivered.
The Angolan government’s assistance came after an appeal by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) chairperson, Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, to member states to bar the delivery of the ammunition to Zimbabwe, saying the arms could deepen the country’s election crisis.
The US and British governments had also exerted concerted pressure on the SADC and China to stop the ship from docking in the region.
The ship has been spotted off the coast of Port Elizabeth, The Weekender said.
May 17th, 2008 15:07
as i’ve said in a comment to another article, it’s really funny that at first the ZEC says “it can take up to 90 days to run this properly” and then out of nowhere says “the date is 27 june”.
i think that the sudden announcement of the date has EVERYTHING to do with the arms finally arriving in zimbabwe [article in portuguese from the canal do moçambique].
does mbeki take us for fools? jesus. does he want zanu to be running the show THAT badly that he would stoop to this level?
the article talks about how the ship was refueled as it passed the cape by the SAS drakensberg, and then how the ship was declared “lost” by lloyds of london. we know it was turned away in angola, but i suppose we should have been more vigilant with regard to pointe-noire. but brazza is not in SADC, right? [the mail and guardian, however, says that the arms were offloaded in angola. note, however, that the zimbabwean government is not denying anything else of substance to the story.]
in the sa press, tsvangirai has suddenly said that he will not be returning to zimbabwe. i’m thinking it has EVERYTHING to do with this arrival.
unbelievable.
May 17th, 2008 15:11
OMG!!! What happened??? I thought the ship story had gone too quiet and as soon as we turned our eyes they docked and offloaded. We have, on record here in these blogs, and i have the email that was sent to me by the Managing Director of Avient Ltd who DENIED any ‘rumours’ about Avient transporting arms and the email also states that Avient NEVER transports arms. A week after that email was received there was talk about all the directors of Avient being under investigation for transporting arms into Siera Leone.
I’m going to find out who the aviation investigation organisation is and forward the original email from Mr Andrew Smith, MD for Avient Ltd. LET’S SHUT THIS COMPANY DOWN!!! Damn, I’m angry now!!
May 17th, 2008 15:15
Housekeeping note:
it’s ponta negra in portuguese, and it’s in the republic of congo [congo-brazzaville]. in french [and english] it’s Pointe-Noire.
personally, i thought it would have gone to Pont Gentil in Gabon, but apparently it didn’t need to go that far.
and still, what in the world is wrong with mbeki for letting this happen? or, more importantly, for FACILITATING this whole thing?
May 17th, 2008 15:27
Hi all… can we take comments on this story to the post I just added because I imagine others might go there?
Thank you Tara and Tokunbo for the alerts.
To be honest, my head is spinning. My first question is are we sure? The Zimbabwean government are not known for telling the truth.
May 17th, 2008 16:20
the mail & guardian says the arms were offloaded in angola. the canal do moçambique says they were offloaded in congo-brazza. bright is not saying that they don’t have them, and out of nowhere tsvangirai says he’s not going back to zimbabwe.
those arms have arrived, folks.