Links ~ the weekend of news
May 19th, 2008
Sunday, 18 May 2008 – News link roundup
Zimbabwe Threatens to Prosecute Abusers of Mobile Phone Text Messages
APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe’s telecommunications regular says it will monitor mobile phone messages to fight what it sees as abuse of the short-message-service (SMS), state radio reported here Sunday.
The acting chief executive of Postal and Telecommunications Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), Charles Sibanda told the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation that his organization would prosecute subscribers found abusing the SMS service.
Zimbabweans have relied on the SMS service to communicate political messages, particularly after the disputed March 29 general election which was won by the opposition.
Individuals and civic organizations have used text messages to communicate news headlines, election updates or political jokes about President Robert Mugabe.
Sibanda warned that POTRAZ could trace the source of any abusive message and bring offenders to book.
Zimbabwe already monitors Internet traffic following the passing last year of legislation allowing President Mugabe’s government to eavesdrop on telecommunications.
POTRAZ is a statutory body established in 2001 to licence and regulate players in the telecommunications industry.
Zimbabwe electoral body highlights qualification of voters
Only those voters who was registered for the March 29 election will be allowed to vote in the presidential election run-off. The ZEC will be using the voters’ roll which was compiled for the previous poll. On June 27 the voters will be casting their ballots in their respective wards as the election will be ward-based. Justice George Chiweshe chairman of the ZEC said that preparations has begun as the ZEC has received funds from the Treasury.
Pallo Jordan slams Zanu-PF
South Africa – Pallo Jordan veteran member of Mbeki’s cabinet has called on Zanu-PF to “surrender power to the party that has won.†Jordan said that Zanu-PF had only themselves to blame for the loss of support from Zimbabweans and the only way Zanu-PF would be able to remain in power was, to either intimidate people or to rig the election.
Jordaan said “it cannot possibly be right that, while we in South Africa expect our democratic institutions to protect us from arbitrary power, we expect the people of Zimbabwe to be content with less.â€
Tutu calls for peacekeeping deployment in Zimbabwe
Archbishop Desmond Tutu says that the only way to prevent the violence in Zimbabwe was to deploy international peacekeepers to that country. Tutu said that Mugabe has two choices, either he (Mugabe) leads an illegitimate government and face the consequences, such as indictment before the International Criminal Court – as a result of the human rights violations being committed in Zimbabwe – or Mugabe could accept a “soft landing†by resigning and possibly living in exile.
Murdered for standing up to Mugabe
‘When Gibson Nyandoro raised his arm and slowly unclenched his fist to make the open-palmed salute of Zimbabwe’s opposition at a rally eight weeks ago, it was a moment so loaded with symbolism that it stilled the crowd…’
Tracy McVeigh’s article about a war veteran’s disillusionment with a President he had loyally served and the events that had led up to his murder.
Zimbabwe opposition vows to ‘bury’ Mugabe in vote
At a rally held in Bulawayo on Sunday, the MDC has vowed to “bury†Robert Mugabe with votes in the upcoming presidential poll. MDC vice president Thokozani Khupe told supporters that the MDC will win with an even bigger margin that that of the first election on 29 March. Khupe said, “We have now declared a zero vote for Robert Mugabe!†She said that the time has come to deliver the “final blow†to Mugabe.
Anxiety Grows For Zimbabwe’s Kidnapped Activist
Concerns for the safety of Tonderai Ndira is growing as no news of him has been heard since he was abducted from his house six day ago. Ndira was beaten up in front of his two children before he was taken away. The Security Minister Didymus Mutasa, the police and the army have declined to respond to questions about Ndira’s disappearance.
Saturday, 7 May 2008 – News link Roundup
Mugabe men in plot to kill Tsvangirai
The MDC says that they have received credible information from “highly placed sources†that there is an assassination plot against their leader, Morgan Tsvangirai. This information means Tsvangirai’s return will be delayed as to give his security advisors more time to analyse the threat. The information was backed up by another report of a high-ranking police meeting where it was stated that Tsvangirai’s safety could not be guaranteed at the MDC rally which was to be held in Bulawayo on Sunday. Tsvangirai however remains determined to return to Zimbabwe as soon as possible.
No new poll watchers for Zimbabwe’s run-off: state media
Zanu-PF will not extend an invitation to invite more election monitors to oversee the presidential elections due on June 27. The first round of polling saw 47 teams of election monitors from Africa, China, Russia and Iran. These countries have amicable relations with Zanu-PF. The Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network (ZESN) said that since the first round of elections, dozens of its observers had been assaulted by suspected Mugabe supporters. Observers are now too scared to monitor the presidential elections in June.
Poll observers assaulted in Zim
The Zimbabwe Elections Support Network (ZESN) says that it is “under siege from suspected Zanu-PF supporters.†The ZESN has fielded 8 667 observers across 9 000 polling stations around the country. Noel Kutuwa chairman of the ZESN says “Observers have been abducted, assaulted, injured, sometimes requiring hospitalisationâ€. According to ZESN, the political climate is not conducive to an election as tens of thousands of villagers and farm workers have been displaced as a campaign of terror was launched at them by state sponsored youth militias.
Amnesty International to investigate abduction of Pfebve parents
A human rights group Amnesty International is investigating the abduction of the elderly parents of Elliot Pfebve an exiled MDC. Pfebve’s parents were abducted from Nyakatondo on Tuesday when a Zanu-PF mob attacked the village. The elderly couple, along with other family members were taken to a torture camp at Nyakatondo Primary School. There are unconfirmed reports that two people have been killed at Nyakatondo torture camp. Amnesty International has pledged to try to locate Pfebe’s parents. During the 2002 parliamentary election Zanu-PF militants killed Pfebve’s brother.
Harare Residents Association reports 5 members abducted
The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) has reported that members are receiving death threats, suffer intimidation from Zanu-PF activists, and state security agents. During the past week, 5 members have been abducted from their homes at night. The abducted members are all CHRA officials from Kuwadzana Extension, Ward 44. Zanu-PF is targeting MDC supporters and civil society organisations in retaliation for the party’s loss in the March elections.
‘Outraged’ Kirk attacks violence in Zimbabwe
“We warn the world that if nothing is done to help the people of Zimbabwe from their predicament, we shall soon be witnessing genocide similar to that experienced in Kenya, Rwanda and other hot spots in Africa and elsewhere.” – Zimbabwean Council of Churches
It is rare for the ZCC to issue such a statement as the one above and it to be read to the congregation of the Church of Scotland. The ZCC has reason to fear a violent backlash. Upon hearing the details of violence in Zimbabwe the Church of Scotland now “vehemently denounced†Mugabe’s rule.
Zimbabwe: How to catch a chicken [Opinion – Blog]
‘Early one afternoon this week a small town residential suburb grew suddenly quiet as the sound of ‘the youths’ filled the neighbourhood. The voices of perhaps thirty young men could be heard as they ran along local streets singing, chanting and repeating the threatening political slogans so familiar to us all…’
A letter that describes the recruitment of young men into the state sponsored militia.
Dining with a despot all too willing to risk everything
When Heidi Holland asked Robert Mugabe if he would sacrifice the welfare of Zimbabwe to proof a political point…
“He said yes,” she remembers. “He didn’t argue it. It didn’t strike him as an unacceptable position.”
Heidi Holland is an author who has now published her book ‘Dinner with Mugabe’. The article explores some of her impressions of Mugabe and what drives him to inflict violence on his own people.
Zimbabwe: Mugabe Fires Attorney General Gula-Ndebele
Attorney General Sobusa Gula-Ndebele has been formally dismissed by Mugabe’s regime. Gula-Ndebele was one of the last independents in the judiciary. A tribunal advised Mugabe to remove Gula-Ndebele from office for misbehaviour. The ‘misbehaviour’ refers to Gula-Ndebele’s allegedly having a meeting with a ‘wanted’ banker James Mushore. Critics say however that Gula-Ndebele was a victim of inter-party power struggles in Zanu-PF.
Arrested demonstrators to face trial in Zimbabwe
Trust Moyo and Cynthia Ncube, the two WOZA members who was arrested last week, will stand trail on 23 June 2008. The women were arrested for taking part in a demonstration, which called for an “end to the recent spate of politically motivated violence in Zimbabweâ€. Moyo and Ncube were detained by the police and later charged with “distributing materials likely to cause a breach of the peaceâ€. The “disturbing materials†include a banner, reading “We want bread and rosesâ€, and a newsletter, which contained the following sentence: “We immediately call on Robert Mugabe to hand over power to the winner of the presidential election, Morgan Tsvangirai.â€
Name & Shame: SW Radio Africa names perpetrators of violence from Murehwa:
· Simba Mudarikwa – MP for Uzumbu / Pfungwe – instigation of violence, arranging vehicles & ferrying youth to villages to commit acts of violence against MDC supporters.
· Kashesha & Dandara & Mavungire (wearing army fatigues) & Kandemire & Katsvairo – all of them war veterans.
· Mukoma ‘Brother B’ – force marching people in Murehwa to meetings and ordering people to provide 20 names each of MDC supporters.
Zimbabwe summons US envoy after hospital visit
James McGee US Ambassador for Zimbabwe was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with regard to his and other diplomats’ visit to hospitals north of Harare. McGee has been given a “first warning†for “interference in Zimbabwe’s internal affairsâ€. According to the conventions and protocols for diplomatic relations, diplomats may be expelled from the host country should they interfere in the internal affairs of that country.
Mugabe’s poll loss ‘disastrous’
Robert Mugabe has acknowledged during a meeting of Zanu-PF on Friday, that “although the presidential result did not yield an outright winner, it was indeed disastrous.†He continued to say that they are however set for the run-off which will decide the winner.
Zimbabwe: The end game
Eddie Cross reflects on Zanu-PF, their strengths and weaknesses and concludes that they may have miscalculated and end up “naked in a legal blizzardâ€. Cross urges Zimbabweans dig into their reserves of energy and courage – and for this one last time – go back into the field. “This is our decisive momentâ€
Chinese-African Relations: A researcher’s perspective
For those interested in China’s involvement in Africa this article offers some interesting facts.
May 19th, 2008 14:25
I don’t want to make light of the mobile phone bugging etc but realistically how many people will it take to monitor all of this…the UK police themselves here have admitted that all the cameras etc that have around the place does little to deter crime and most of the time there is nobody watching the screen anyway…I suppose they could target a few people but the messages will get out even if we revert back to fax or pigeon or telex…who runs the network in Zimbabwe presumably and international organization so we target them from the outside tell them that if they want our continued support then we want them to not allow this to happen or something choices…for every choice they remove we will come up with another one…of course we could always revert to code and encryption messages…
Yes Zecs announcement yesterday about only those on the voters role for March 29th is a blow and of course many people will have had their IDs stolen so they can’t vote but the fact that 20000 people came to the MDC rally despite Mr President Morgan unable to arrive gives us all hope…..
May 19th, 2008 16:04
If the MDC calls for a vote on the basis of ID so that people can vote in their safe havens or at any polling station, maybe there will be support for that? I don’t see how it could be seen as unfair and since ZANU persists in claiming that the MDC has inflicted violence on them (go figure) it’s actually an even handed move designed to benefit all those who have been displaced by post-election violence and are afraid to go home. Maybe it would even help the hundreds of thousands of ZANU-PF supporters who have been driven across the borders to get away from rampaging MDC. they too can return home and vote for another five years of Mugabe!!
As for Mr Sibanda who wants to monitor sms, maybe someone can find us his mobile number so we can send him a few (or a few thousand) messages to tell him what we think of his suggestion.
Sally D
Somerset West
May 19th, 2008 18:17
An article in THe Zimbabwean today reveals:
The Price of Tyranny – A Big Price To Pay For The Ego Of One Man.
While we often discuss the human costs of the Mugabe regime, we often neglect the costs in material terms. For this country the price of his tyranny has been huge. Our national debt has soared to over US$8bn. Despite our pariah state the international community still pours in over US$600m a year in aid – all of it in grant form. If we add up the total losses to Zimbabwe over the past ten years they would exceed US$100bn. A big price to pay for the ego of one man and his gang of thieves. On the issue of the corrupt diversion of state resources, the magnitude of the costs we have bourne are equally enormous. People in the West have little idea of the sums that are stolen from countries like Zimbabwe and the extent of the wealth being accumulated by the priveleged few in power. Control of the Reserve Bank and the State simply signals an opportunity to plunder both for the benefit of a tiny minority.
The contagion in Zimbabwe also affects South Africa and could be costing it anything from 3-5% of its GDP. Now there is increasing violence there as well. This was bound to happen as their social system can only take so much pressure before it breaks down. And over three million zimbabweans is a lot of pressure!
I know the world is never going to be perfect, but why it allows, not only a beautiful country like Zimbabwe to be driven into the ground, but also the neighbouring region to be de-stabilized, and at such a price in both human and material costs, by one tyrannical and selfish individiual, is something simply beyond comprehension.
May 19th, 2008 19:52
@HARARE (AFP) — Authorities in Zimbabwe have rejected opposition and international calls for additional election observers for the second round of presidential elections due on June 27, state media said on Saturday.
“The invitations we sent at the beginning are still valid. There would be no further invitations,” Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, was quoted as saying by The Herald newspaper.
Once again – What authorities? Who the hell are they? And Mumbengegwi, who’s he? The Minister of WHAT?
Common, why can’t the newly elected Minister of Foreign Affairs (who just happens to have legitimately – even by ZANUPF’s books – unseated Mumbengegwi) invite whosoever he pleases?
This bloody nonsense!
May 19th, 2008 19:56
As for the cell phone monitoring – well let’s just flood the silly buggers. Any message – Happy Christmas if need be – over and over to the folk we know in Zim.
Just nothing that’s going to get the recipients in Zim into trouble (if the ‘authorities’ can actually indeed monitor the traffic.)
May 19th, 2008 20:27
It may well be possible to intercept both SMS and web using the sorts of technology that the Chinese use. I very much doubt that they are this sophisticated – I’d suspect it’s more of an empty threat – but if you can find out who their supplier is then – as has happened with the Chinese and Yahoo and others – those suppliers can be boycotted. This is an action western supporters can take part in.
May 20th, 2008 12:44
Yesterday, Gordon Brown, the UK Prime Minister, delivered a speech about the web. He is all in favour of the ‘net generation’ who prefer to ‘take their cue from peer to peer recommendation rather than authority.’ He is sure that people power will become an explosive force in history. “If Rwanda happened today, the images and stories dispersed on the web would make it immpossible for the international community not to intervene. The challenge in the era of direct people power was for global institutions like the IMF, the World Bank and the UN to match this growth of global demos on the web. I believe in the wisdom of crowds”. He said.
It’s nice to know that some politicians appreciate this enormous power. Keep up the good work Sokwanele and others.
May 20th, 2008 14:46
I have given POTRAZ my view of their threat to monitor SMS messages in support of Mugabe’s regime… you can do the same. Send your complaints to
theregulator@potraz.gov.zw
and urge whoever reads it to understand that their conduct will itself be monitored.
However, something tells me that the regime cannot count on lower level officials just rolling over and going along with its dictats.