The Zimbabwe We Want: The MDC (Mutambara ) States its Case

29^th November 2006; Harare, Zimbabwe

 

Introduction

 

 

On the 28^th of November 2006 the MDC leadership met with the Church leaders who are behind the "The Zimbabwe We Want" initiative. This was the first time that our party was engaged in this project. There had been misrepresentations in the press that the Church bishops had met some of our leaders before the launch of the document. This was completely false.

 

Zimbabwe is going through an economic and political crisis of unprecedented proportions. Any initiative that seeks to foster and develop solutions to this crisis must be supported. Whenever any group of Zimbabweans gets together in pursuit of such initiatives, it must be hailed and encouraged.  The state of our country and pain of our people demand nothing less. Consequently, in spite of its initial exclusion from this particular Church initiative, the MDC is solidly supportive and wishes to be actively involved.

 

In pursuing a national initiative such as the "National Vision for Zimbabwe" it is essential to ensure ownership and buy-in by the generality of the people of Zimbabwe. The people must own both the process and content of the national vision. Furthermore, the process of an initiative cannot be de-linked from its content. A dysfunctional process will lead to distorted and contested content

 

 

Process of Achieving the National Vision

 

It is our submission that the Church leaders' process in crafting a National Vision for Zimbabwe has been fundamentally flawed. It has been characterized by dishonesty, manipulation, and lack of inclusiveness. A few examples will suffice to illustrate these aspects. Critical stakeholders in the form of civic organizations, political parties, and church organizations (e.g., NCA, Crisis Coalition, MDC, ZCTU, ZINASU, Christian Alliance, National Pastors Conference) were not engaged nor consulted prior to the launch. To compound matters, there were falsehoods in the media, which were never retracted, about some of these groups being consulted. The lack of involvement of key players led to the spectacular failure of the document launch, where it ended being a ZANU(PF) orgy in self indulgency.

 

In addition, some of those organizations engaged were shown versions of the document that were different from what was eventually launched. This has led to complaints about duplicity and manipulation from the Catholic Jesuits, and Bishop Pius Ncube. The perception is that people and organizations were being used to legitimize a dubious agenda.

 

The most problematic process aspect of the Church initiative has been the way they have engaged Robert Mugabe and ZANU(PF). From the tea sessions at State House to the launch of the document by Robert Mugabe, the Church leaders have allowed the criminal dictatorship of Robert Mugabe to destroy the potential of the initiative. Mugabe's ill-advised comments about non-negotiable issues, defence of the Lancaster House constitution, and general disdain for other stakeholders, have compromised the effectiveness of the initiative. In a very cynical way Mugabe embraced the project in order to destroy its credibility, and then unleashed his chief apologists and propagandists to viciously attack the initiative in the state media. What a shameful ploy!

 

The Church leaders are well-intentioned and their motivation is honourable. However, they have been extremely naïve. With the continuously deteriorating economic malaise and global isolation, Mugabe wants to buy time. He could use the initiative to do just that by appearing to be doing something. The suffering people of Zimbabwe will reject any process that will provide a lifeline to the evil regime of Robert Mugabe. They will not be part of any efforts to sanitize the

Dictator.

 

 

 

 

Content of the National Vision

 

 

The MDC will be submitting a detailed written response to the content of the vision document. Here we outline some preliminary and inconclusive remarks. The general gist of the document is in sync with the views of most Zimbabweans, that is, the material is common cause. However, there are areas characterized by omissions and distortions. Some of the distortions are due to the dysfunctional process through which the initiative has gone. The ugly hand of ZANU(PF) is evident. As already submitted, you cannot separate content from process.

 

For a start, the vision statement sounds like apple pie and motherhood. There is no economic vision, neither is there a social justice aspect to it. There is no clarity on the economic strategy that will take Zimbabwe from the economic crisis to the Promised Land. The recommendations on the economy are weak, poorly structured and lack congruency. Similarly, the section on land requires more input around collateral value of land, security of tenure, agricultural productivity, secondary agriculture, justice and equity.

 

A major distortion in the document is around the nature and cause of the Zimbabwean crisis. At the root of our national problems are issues of bad governance, political legitimacy, economic mismanagement, corruption, and political dictatorship, all due to the absolute failure of Robert Mugabe and ZANU(PF). This must be stated without equivocation or ambiguity. The vision document at best equivocates, at worst it is apologetic. Misdiagnosis of a problem will lead to wrong solutions.

 

It is also astounding that the language of the document is very subdued and apologetic when describing national institutional ills such as POSA and AIPPA. In some cases the diction resembles that of ZANU(PF) in the way issues like patriotism and sanctions are discussed. Presumably these language overtures are meant to placate the dictator, Robert Mugabe. It must be emphasized that this is done at a huge cost: De-legitimization of the content leading to its total rejection by the people of Zimbabwe.

 

Another area of contention in the document is on the subject of Gukurahundi, which is treated shamelessly as a footnote. There is a celebration of the first 15 years of independence as blissful and full of hope. Yet, it is during this period that the regime of Robert Mugabe massacred over 20 000 civilians in Matabeleland and Midlands. The nation must come to terms with this reality. There must be a Truth and Justice Commission, followed by an acknowledgement of what transpired. Only then can national healing begin. We must seek restorative justice, victim based justice, and rehabilitation of the communities affected. Today there are young people who cannot get birth certificates and identification cards because both parents were killed during Gukurahundi; and it is not officially acknowledged that the parents are dead. These are people being victimized today. Hence no!  Gukurahundi cannot be a footnote in a National Vision for Zimbabwe.

 

A general point about the document is that it lacks time-frames, and prioritization of the different initiatives and recommendations. There must be clarity on what matters are short term, medium term and long term.

 

The document extensively uses Christian Biblical chapters and verses. This is inappropriate in a national vision document. Even if our country is 90% Christian we still have Moslems, Hindus, and Jews as part of our nation. There are also Zimbabweans who believe in traditional religions. We need religious tolerance in our national vision.

 

As indicated earlier, our detailed written response on the content is forthcoming.

 

 

The Way Forward

 

In conclusion it is clear that the Church leaders have process and content challenges in their great initiative. It is important that they embrace the critique we have provided above and address relevant matters. Dramatic changes and corrective measures are required, in particular around the process. The initiative has to be wrestled back from ZANU(PF), its credibility re-established, while building buy-in and confidence among disgruntled stakeholders. The success of the initiative will depend solely on the Church leaders doing the right things. As the MDC party, our reservations notwithstanding, we pledge to work closely with the Church leaders without any preconditions. We urge other stakeholders and the generality of the people of Zimbabwe to participate and seek to influence both the process and content of the initiative.

 

 

The National Vision for Zimbabwe must be owned by all Zimbabweans.

 

 

 

Defeat is not on the agenda & Victory is certain.

 

The Struggle Continues Unabated.

 

 

Arthur G.O. Mutambara

MDC President

"And it seems to me that you lived your life like a candle in the wind...."

1.Who sang the song?

2.It was originally dedicated to whom?

3.At the Funeral Service of which Princess was it sung?
4. What were the rules and regulations governing the taking of photographs in that main Funeral Service?

5. In your perception, what does that song mean?


Please send your answers to mufarostig@yahoo.co.uk.

The competition closes on the 24th of Dec, 2006.

Results will be known on the 5th of January,2007.
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In my humble opinion, Cde Learnmore Jongwe "lived his life like a candle in the wind."

The Radical Soldier is the other person who's "living his life like a candle in the wind."



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(P/S. This is an attempt to see how many view this blog.)

Dear Robert Mugabe, (From Prof Stan Mukasa!)

November 27, 2006

In today's Letter from America Dr. Stan Mukasa writes an open
no-holds-bared letter to Mugabe urging him to seek mental and spiritual
counseling for a possible redemption for his soul, as the 83-year-old
geriatric dictator approaches the inevitable political and physical exit
doors from this world.

An Open Letter to Robert Gabriel Mugabe President, ZANU-PF

Robert Mugabe:
Jongwe House
Harare

If you close your eyes and imagine what the mood in the country would
be like on the news of your death you may or may not be surprised to learn
about all-day, all- night exuberant celebrations and riotous festivities and
yes, pungwes that will most likely take place along the length and breadth
of this country.
Your ears would almost be deafened by the unending horn blasts from
all those cars.
Or, try what Idi Amin Dada, Uganda's former dictator, did one time. He
spread rumours that he had died. His security chiefs took him on a
helicopter ride and he personally witnessed the ecstatic jubilation that
spread around Uganda.
Lest you think this is an unjustified accusation coming from a
disgruntled Zimbabwean living outside Zimbabwe your very own security chiefs
have advised you that you are the most hated man in Zimbabwe today. They
have also told you that if the leadership of the opposition movement was
organized and united Zimbabweans are ready, willing and able to storm the
State House and hang you upside down by a meat hook like what Italians did
to your fellow dictator, Benito Mussolini, in 1945.
Maybe that explains why you have moved from the State House to your
multimillion-dollar ultra luxurious mansion that you built on the backs of
the struggling masses. And maybe that also explains why you are now busy
militarily fortifying your mansion. You are a fast learner! You are probably
more aware than any of us the degree and extent of resentment, contempt and
hatred that is leveled against you. But all those underground bunkers and
all those missile defenses and radar will not save you or guarantee you a
permanent peace of mind.
You are now 83 years old and way in the sunset of your life. In
African tradition people of your age are regarded with great respect as
sources of wisdom who should teach younger generations the virtues of life.
My grandparents were honorable and well respected. When they died hundreds
of people gathered to pay their respects.
In contrast, when you die thousands of people will come to your
graveside not to pay respect but to make sure it's you being lowered into
the grave so they can pour contempt and ridicule. They will do this
notwithstanding the tradition of not speaking ill about the dead. You will
definitely be an exception to that tradition. Take my word for it.
Zimbabweans are circling like vultures waiting for the day they will hear
the news.
I do not harbor any wish for death for you. I would hope you live long
enough to be brought, like Liberia's Charles Taylor, to trial at The Hague
for crimes against humanity. I would, however, prefer you were tried in Kezi
at the VERY same spot where on one fateful day back in 1983 your Fifth
Brigade soldiers gathered villagers and told them they were "serious about
hunting dissidents." And to prove their point they lined up scores of
civilians and massacred them in cold blood.
This was one of the thousands of acts of genocide committed under your
watch and which resulted in the murder of over 20,000 innocent civilians. At
that spot in Kezi I would hope that each of the surviving relatives of the
innocent civilians you butchered will come and stare at you in the face and
tell you what they think of you. And, after you are found guilty, I would
hope you are saved from the people's rage and the gallows so you can serve
the rest of your miserable life in Chikurubi maximum prison.
While in Chikurubi you will be compelled to listen AGAIN to video
recordings of testimonies from every Zimbabwean who was affected by your
Fascist dictatorship.
The walls around your solitary confinement in Chikurubi prison should
contain a complete record of how you brought death, misery, destruction and
a Stone Age existence to millions of Zimbabweans.
When God at His time should decide to take your life I would hope you
are buried with all your sins so they can be your documented record in the
other world.
In 1980 Zimbabweans gave you an overwhelming vote of confidence when
they voted you in office. Millions converged at the airport to meet you from
exile. Their expectation was that you would bring them out of the settler
colonialism of Ian Smith where they had no political rights.
You betrayed this hope and trust when you started behaving like Ian
Smith immediately after independence. You did not dismantle the colonial
laws that oppressed blacks. You used them to your advantage. Whatever
economic gains Zimbabwe made in the first ten years of its so-called
independence they were a smokescreen for your real motives. These were spelt
out by the late Edison Zvobgo when he said your single ambition in life was
to stay in power indefinitely and at all costs.
Incidentally, Zvobgo may have been in your political party but he
spoke very contemptuously about you.
I remember one day he said people were mischievously misled into
thinking you were very educated by the virtue of all those degrees you
gained through distance education. He said you boasted about having more
degrees than a thermometer. The reality, according to Zvobgo, was, as he put
it, "A B.A .plus a B.A. plus B.A. is still a B.A."
Zvobgo also ridiculed the so-called ZANUPF women's league who wore
dresses emblazoned with your picture and became a characteristic circus and
spectacle at the airport to welcome you from your endless trips abroad.
Congratulations, you probably beat the late Kamuzu Banda of Malawi's record
on this! Zvobgo used to openly scorn those women whom he said were other
people's wives yet they had unashamedly Mugabe's picture almost tattooed on
their butts and other parts of their bodies!
Zvobgo was apocalyptically right when he said you have a schizophrenic
obsession in clinging to power even when you know very well that you have
lost the respect, let alone political support, of the majority of
Zimbabweans. He derisively called you the madman from Ngomahuru - that
hospital for mental patients in Masvingo! He said you had been given a baton
in a relay race to pass it on to the next person. Instead, you fled with
that baton into the mountains where you are still running wildly today!
The fact that Zimbabwe is being ruled by a madman from Ngomahuru
accurately explains the crisis situation in the country today.
Today, everything that can possibly go wrong in Zimbabwe has happened.
Zimbabwe is not at war yet it has all the symptoms of a war ravaged country.
You thirst for blood, to quote a statement from one of your fanatical
supporters Joyce Chiwengwa in reference to another occasion in her turbulent
life of unearned luxury, has been a permanent feature of your despotic rule.
You mobilized unemployed youths and trained them into a militia of thugs
numbering 50000 - more than the size of the army! Then you set them off to
kill, torture, rape, abduct members of the opposition movement. The past six
years have been pure hell on earth for Zimbabweans. Human rights
organizations have documented over 400 members of the opposition movement
who were killed, hundreds of women raped some of whom have now contracted
the deadly HIV/AIDS disease. Your militia thugs also gang -raped women and
we have the riveting testimony about this.
Your disastrous seizure of commercial farms, ostensibly to give blacks
what you called the stolen land, ended up replacing half a million blacks.
It is amazing that you realized that land had been stolen and needed to be
retrieved 20 years after you had been in power and just when you also
discovered you were about to lose the 2000 elections! And now you have
discovered that the same blacks, except your cronies and relatives, you gave
back the stolen land do not deserve it.
As if that was not enough you launched the so called Operation
Murambatsvina which left millions of already destitute Zimbabweans homeless.
You were an odd sort of Robin Hood. You robbed from the rich but you did not
give to the poor because you also robbed from the poor!
The results of your disastrous policies are everywhere around you. You
only need to roll down the windows in your bulletproof imported Mercedes
Benz to see how thousands of Zimbabweans are toiling and scavenging just to
survive from one day to the next.
Zimbabwe's economy, which ironically was vibrant during the settler
colonial regime despite the imposition of sanctions, now lies in tatters. It
has been in recession for the seventh year in a row and has contracted by 40
percent. No other country in the SADC region has experienced this phenomenal
free fall in its economy. Eight out of ten Zimbabweans are unemployed.
Inflation which stands at over 1,000 percent is the highest in the world.
Just to show how high the inflation is , if we exclude Zimbabwe, the range
of inflation rates in the developing countries is between 5 and 100 percent!
Corruption is now endemic and pandemic. You have created out of state
resources and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe a gravy train for your cronies
who are living a life of unbridled luxury in a country where the vast
majority are starving and homeless. And now the pigs in the feeding trough
are stumbling on each other as the trough runs empty. In your desperation to
refill this trough you are gallivanting around the world selling Zimbabwean
resources to the highest bidder.
This has got to be a scandal of monumental proportions. It is more
than a justification for your dismissal from office. Yet you have rigged all
elections because you knew very well that you would lose miserably. You have
also manipulated efforts to seek redress through the courts because the
judiciary system is now stuffed with your cronies.
You have turned down, like a spoilt child, all genuine efforts at
mediating the crisis of governance that you have precipitated. You have, in
what can be termed as act of a madman from Ngomahuru, turned down efforts to
give food and shelter to victims of your disastrous policies. Do you
remember saying Zimbabweans do not need outside food otherwise they will
choke? What can be more insane than this cruel hoax of a statement made in a
country where all indications are that over two million Zimbabweans are in
urgent need of food aid? Even your militia thugs and rank and file soldiers
upon whom, by your very admission, you rely to stay in power have been
reduced to beggars and scavengers.
If there was any chance at all that you are still capable of listening
to reason and sense this letter would demand that you step down immediately
as you have neither a constitutional nor legitimate right to rule Zimbabwe.
This would pave way for a transitional government made up of representatives
of the opposition movements in the country and under the protection of the
United Nations peace keeping forces who will facilitate a democratic
transition to free and fair and internationally supervised elections,
democratic rule, the rule of law and economic recovery.
The crisis in Zimbabwe is 90 percent a direct result of your misguided
policies and insatiable and ruthless determination to stay in power
indefinitely. You will be fully responsible and will be held fully
accountable for BOTH the causes and the consequences of acts of civil
disobedience by the Zimbabweans who are clearly fed up with you.
At the age of 83, you should seek , even at this late hour, spiritual
and mental counselling . You are coming to the end of your life. There is no
redemption for your soul. The future generations and including your own
offspring will spit and curse at your grave. You have brought shame and
disrepute not only to yourself but all those who once trusted you and gave
you the mandate to rule the country.
God may forgive you. But Zimbabweans cannot forgive you because the
blood and the spirits of thousands of innocent civilians that you butchered
in cold blood and thousands others whom you tortured demand justice.

Yours sincerely,

*************

Message from www.magazim.co.uk !!

comments:
panicomg24 said...
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1:53 AM, November 29, 2006

Zimbabwe Diaspora CSOs Forum:ANNUAL REPORT AND RESOLUTIONS OF 2006 AGM!

Annual General Meeting
Saturday 25th November 2006


2006 Annual Report



1. An Overview of 2005-6

2005-6 has been such a roller coaster ride for the Forum! The past year has the Forum grow phenomenally in terms of both stature and influence both here in South Africa and internationally. In general terms, the first year has been a very positive year of progressive growth. The Forum has certainly exceeded most of its expectations for the first year of its existence.


2. Administrative Matters

The Forum is still in the process of registering itself in terms of the Non-Profit Organisations Act. It is anticipated that the Certificate of Registration will be issued soon.
The Forum has had several abortive attempts to set up an office in Braamfontein. At the moment there are two separate initiatives that are likely to result in an office being set up by the 1st February 2007. However, the Forum is using the Treasurer’s company office at Auckland House as its administrative premise.
In the meantime, the Forum has received several donations and pledges of both office furniture and electronic equipment that includes at least five computers.
The Forum’s Secretariat is still yet to be fully set up. In the meantime, Nora Tapiwa has been playing the role of the Acting Co-ordinator on a voluntary basis. This is one area of critical of concern in terms of the Forum’s prospects.


3. The Management Committee

The inaugural AGM in 2005 elected a substantive Management Committee to lead the Forum for a two year term in terms of its adopted Constitution. The Committee has since then remained largely intact and hyperactive for most of the past year! The only slight variation was the co-option of Savious Kwinika to replace Steven Paradza who stepped down to serious pressure arising from a new job appointment. The current Committee consists of the following persons:

(a) Daniel Molokele – Chairperson
(b) Solomon Chikohwero – Vice Chairperson
(c) Luke Zunga – Treasurer
(d) Joyce Dube – Committee Member
(e) Proper Ndlovu – Committee Member
(f) Savious Kwinika – Committee Member

The Committee has consistently met on a monthly basis during most of the year. It has also had several special meetings on a need arise basis.


4. Other Committees of the Forum

In line with the provisions of its Constitution, the Forum has set up several working Committees during the past year. The following two have perhaps been the most active ones:

(a) The Fundraising Committee

The Fundraising Committee was set up in February 2006 to help develop a sustainable financial resources model for the Forum. The Committee has at least six active members who are led by Luke Zunga, as the Chairperson.

(b) The Humanitarian Issues Committee

The Committee was set up in April 2006 to help the Forum address any critical issues in the Humanitarian area. It was tasked to respond to such critical matters as the Lindela Deportation Centre, Methodist Church refugees, among other similar issues. It is co-chaired by Solomon Chikohwero and Joyce Dube.

(b) The Diaspora Conference Committee

The Committee was set up in February 2006 to help the Forum implement its plans to host the first ever Zimbabwean international global Diaspora conference in 2007. So far the Committee has mainly helped to organise the Public Meetings Series and the First Preparatory Conference in June 2006. The Committee is chaired by Daniel Molokele.



5. The Membership of the Forum

The growth of the Forum’s membership has been such a phenomenal one! At present the network now has thirty fully registered members. It is thus evident that the Forum has in the past year grown so much that it has become the only credible network or umbrella body for most of the Zimbabwean CSOs that are based in South Africa. Admittedly, there are still few groupings that are not yet registered members but have increasingly come to accept the advantageous reality of the network. It is thus anticipated that by the 2007 AGM almost all the organisations will be affiliated to the Forum in one form or another.









6. Summary of Programme Activities

During the past year, the Forum was engaged in numerous programme activities. The following are some of the programme highlights for 2005-6:




(a) The Strategic Planning Workshop

The Strategic Planning workshop was the first major event of the year since it was held in February. The participants of the workshop were drawn from the network membership’s representatives. Another aspect of the event was that it was used as the first public platform for the newly appointed Co-ordinator of the Regional office of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition to interact with the leaders of the SA based Zimbabwean CSOs Community. the major outcomes of the event was the adoption of the Forum’s Strategic Plan that included the Vision, Mission, Programme Objectives, and the adoption of the proposal to host the global Diaspora conference in SA during 2007.


(b) The Public Meetings

In line with its resolution to host the Diaspora conference in 2007, the Forum also decided to initiate a public meeting series so as to sustain an active momentum during the countdown towards the 2007 event. Speakers were invited to address an open public discussion that had its focus on one of the topical themes related to the situation in Zimbabwe. At least five public meetings have been held so far. It is expected that the public meetings will continue to be hosted on a bi-monthly basis till the 2007 event is finally held.


(c) First Diaspora Conference

The February 2006 workshop resolved that in line with the plans of the Forum to host the global Diaspora Conference in 2007, there was a need to host two separate preparatory conferences prior to the major event. The two conferences would focus on the local SA based Zimbabwean groups/activists and the solidarity movement that is also derived from the SA NGOs that are actively involved in solidarity campaigns for a new democratic dispensation in Zimbabwe. Consequent to that, the First Preparatory conference was successfully held in June 2006. There are plans to host the Second Conference by April 2007.



7. The Forum’s Strategic Partnerships

During the past year the Forum has strived consistently to develop strong programme or network partnerships with other formations that are actively involved in the struggle for a new Zimbabwe. The following details are some of the major highlights in this regard:



(a) Local South African Partnerships

The Forum has sought to work with the various SA NGOs that are actively involved in the solidarity movement such as SANGOCO, CSVR, Peace and Solidarity Trust, Amnesty International, Roll Back Xenophobia Campaign, among others. But even more critically, the Forum has consistently engaged the broader network known as the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum.


(b) International Strategic Partnerships

At an international level, the Forum has been actively exchanging contacts in such countries as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand, among others. During the year, the forum hosted delegates from the UK based Campaign for justice in Zimbabwe and also from the North American Coalition for a Free Zimbabwe. Plans by the Forum’s Chairperson to meet several leading UK based groups collapsed after the trip was aborted due to visa related problems. The Forum also tried but failed to send it s own delegates to the annual Open Forum on Zimbabwe that is held in the UK. It is hoped that next year, the Forum will be strongly represented there. With regards to the other African countries, the Forum plans to engage in a series of exchange visits in 2007 to such countries as Botswana, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho, among others.


(c) Zimbabwean Strategic Partnerships

The Forum has also consistently sought to develop a strong partnership with the NGOs that are active in Zimbabwe. In particular, it has strove to have a working relationship with the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition. This is so especially with the group’s local regional office in Johannesburg. The Forum was also represented by its Chairperson who was a speaker at the launch of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance in Bulawayo during February 2006. The Chairperson also attended the launch of the Save Zimbabwe Convention in Harare during July 2006. There are also plans by the Forum to host two separate public meetings in 2007 that will be held in partnership with the National Constitutional Assembly and the Zimbabwe National Students Union.


(d) The Diaspora Media Support

The Forum has also benefited a lot for the goodwill coverage of the Diaspora based media. In particular, the Forum has benefited a lot from such news houses as The Zimbabwean, New Zimbabwe.com, CAJ News, VoP, SWRadio Africa, Studio Seven, Zimonline, among others. Special mention though, has to go to the thriving community of Zimbabwean free lance journalists that are based in South Africa. It is evident that the continued support of the Diaspora media will be very critical in the run-up towards the successful holding of the 2007 global Diaspora conference.





8. The 2007 Diaspora Conference

In February 2006, the Forum endorsed the plans to host the first ever global Zimbabwean Diaspora Conference in Johannesburg during 2007. The conference plans have since then been one of the major programme areas of the Forum. Initially it was hoped that the historic conference would be held in April 2007 but due to a number of logistical reasons it appears that is no longer tenable. It is thus likely to be held in August 2007, in terms of the current projected dates.



9. In Conclusion

As already alluded to, the past year has seen a monumental growth for the Forum. It is now hoped that in the aftermath of its consolidation process during the first year, the New Year ahead is most likely to bring even much more success for the Forum.
In particular, the successfully hosting of the Diaspora conference could prove to be a critical point in terms of the long term prospects of the Forum. The Forum is ready to face the challenges of the year ahead and firmly believes that the year 2006-7 will bring with it better news for the long suffering people of Zimbabwe both at home and in the Diaspora.
In the meantime it will be up to all of us to fight together and ensure that such initiatives as the Forum will continue to grow from strength to strength.

The struggle for a new democratic and prosperous Zimbabwe continues!
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ZIMBABWE DIASPORA CSOs FORUM

RESOLUTIONS OF 2006 AGM


The Zimbabwe Diaspora Civic Society Organisations Forum has successfully held its second Annual General Meeting on Saturday 25th November 2006, at the Holy Trinity Church in Braamfontein in Johannesburg.

An impressive turnout of about forty delegates representing up to 35 different Zimbabwean civic society groups that are based in South Africa attended the event.
The Forum seeks to co-ordinate the Zimbabwean CSOs common vision and strategy in the struggle for a new democratic dispensation in Zimbabwe.
The vision of the forum is of a democratic Zimbabwean society where all citizens are able to participate in all decision-making processes that have an impact on their lives be it at home or abroad.
The mission of the forum is to promote civil society by uniting and strengthening the CSO sector to enable it to influence development policy and advocate for a new prosperous and democratic Zimbabwe.
The following is the summary of some of the major resolutions of the 2006 AGM:
1. The AGM noted with continued concern and condemned the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe at both political and socio-economic levels and pledged to continue its fight for a new democratic dispensation in Zimbabwe.

2. The AGM affirmed plans to launch the Zimbabwe Democracy Centre by 1st February 2007. The centre shall be located at Braamfontein in Johannesburg and shall be the general office complex for several Zimbabwean CSOs that are based in South Africa.

3. The AGM also re-affirmed plans by the Forum to host the first ever international Zimbabwe Diaspora Conference in Johannesburg. The date of the conference has now been set as October-November 2007.

4. The AGM resolved to continue to engage the various other formations that are part of the pro-democracy movement and develop strong partnerships with them. These include among others the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum, Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, North American Coalition for a Free Zimbabwe, and all other similar groupings in Zimbabwe and the rest of the Diaspora communities.

5. The AGM also resolved to set up or strengthen the various Committees of the Forum such as the Gender Committee, HIV & Aids Committee, Policy & Advocacy Committee and the Humanitarian Committee, among others, to ensure the maximum effectiveness of the Forum in its quest to promote the cause for a new democratic Zimbabwe.

6. The AGM also noted with concern the need for an urgent solution to the plight of Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa, and tasked the Humanitarian Committee to meet the Central Methodist Church leadership and the Department of Home Affairs.

7. The AGM also appreciated and thanked the various media institutions that include The Zimbabwean, New Zimbabwe.com, Zimonline, Voice of the People, CAJ News, Studio Seven, SW Radio Africa, among others, for their active role in promoting the various Diaspora civic society formations that are actively involved in the struggle for a new democratic Zimbabwe.

(The above statement has been issued by the Management Committee of the Forum on behalf of the 2006 AGM on this 26th day of November 2006 in Johannesburg, South Africa.)
For any more details, please contact Daniel Molokele on +27 72 947 4815

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Zuma says will not turn into another 'Mugabe monster'

http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=522 JACOB Zuma . . . I am no Robert Mugabe JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s former deputy president Jacob Zuma has rejected charges that he is a new Robert Mugabe in the making branding the veteran Zimbabwean leader a “monster.”  Zuma, who is heavily tipped to succeed President Thabo Mbeki as leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party in 2007 and possibly state president two years later, was speaking in an interview with a British newspaper, The Sunday Telegraph.  Political commentators have expressed fears that if Zuma wins the South African presidency, he will introduce populist economic policies reminiscent to what happened in Zimbabwe where Mugabe seized white farms for redistribution to landless blacks.  "As a member and a leader of the ANC all I do is carry out ANC policies," he said. "How could you have an individual who would become such a monster? The ANC system does not allow for that kind of thing."  The ANC, while acknowledging that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe, has in the past steadfastly refused to openly attack Mugabe who is still revered in Africa as a liberation war hero.  The criticism of Mugabe by Zuma ranks among the most forthright by a senior ANC official.  But Zuma defended Mugabe’s land seizures blaming the crisis on Britain which he said failed to honour its promises to fund land reforms in Zimbabwe. He also defended South Africa’s policy of “quiet diplomacy” towards Harare which his government has pursued over the past six years. "Other people have adopted the policy of criticising Mugabe from a distance, which only makes him more angry. We are the only ones who have engaged him on the issues," Zuma said. - ZimOnline

"Tsvangirai has lost his fire!"

Tsvangirai has lost his fire 




 Ex "The Financial Gazette."  http://www.fingaz.co.zw/story.aspx?stid=1978

 

EDITOR — Morgan Tsvangirai, once a firebrand politician, is increasingly becoming a liability to Zimbabwe’s opposition movement.
His naivety on the Ari-Ben Menashe issue, his misjudgment on the “Final Push” demonstrations, his inability to keep the MDC together, and his subsequent failure to deliver on the “Winter of Discontent” mass protests speak volumes of his leadership deficiencies.
It is now crystal clear to all and sundry that Tsvangirai has exhausted his energy and it is now time for him to step aside and give up the reins of power to someone more agile and capable.
It should not be forgotten that were it not for Tsvangirai, President Robert Mugabe would have been out of power as we speak. I say so because the rejected draft constitution of 1999, which Tsvangirai opposed vigorously, had a stipulation that would have legislated President Mugabe out of power by 2004.
This year alone, Tsvangirai has been completely out of touch with the people save for the time he promised winter protests during the MDC congress in March. Right now as the men of the cloth try their very best to negotiate President Mugabe out of power, Tsvangirai has sought to hijack their mission and claim their agenda. It is now important more than ever that the leading opposition leaders stand up firm and show Tsvangirai the exit door.

Wilberforce Majaji
United States

CONGRATULATIONS TO SWRADIOAFRICA!

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news231106/winners231106.htm

Association for International Broadcasting awards
In the catagory for
International station of the year - radio
The winner is............................................ SW Radio Africa

SW Radio Africa is delighted to announce that it has won the award for International Radio Station of the Year from the AIB, the Association for International Broadcasting.

We are also delighted that Mandisa Mundawarara was highly commended in the award category, International Radio Presenter of the Year.

These non commercial awards offer peer review of output, personalities and technology - they are the only awards that celebrate excellence in international cross-border broadcasting. The 2006 awards have been judged by an international panel of broadcasting experts, including professional TV and radio critics from leading newspapers.

Thank you AIB.

See links:

http://www.aib.org.uk/

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/article/221106/bbc_and_sky_win_broadcast_awards

 

Statement from the Presidency of the MDC!

The Zimbabwe We Seek

By Morgan Tsvangirai

Last updated: 11/10/2006 20:27:02

THE MDC national executive met at the weekend and considered the latest initiative by the Zimbabwean churches to address the deepening national crisis through a proposal to map out a national vision for the country.

On Friday, I met the Bishops and shared with them our views on some of the issues they raise in their document, The Zimbabwe We Want. We commend the Bishops for their efforts. It is now common fare that the people of Zimbabwe feel the negative impact of the crisis.

Families are torn apart as millions of young people have sought refuge in the Diaspora; the vulnerable can barely breathe; millions are out work; business is on its knees; and the middle class has long disappeared from our social scene.

Even the bishops can feel the pressure and are desperate for relief.

The few Zimbabwean workers still at work are paid salaries and wages way below the official sustenance level - their continued employment is a form of slavery.

May I take this opportunity, fellow Zimbabweans, to record my appreciation for the tireless efforts of our civil society partners and political activists who have consistently confronted the Mugabe dictatorship against such heavy odds? I wish to pay special tribute to my fellow colleagues in the MDC who have remained steadfast in their fight for democracy, to the labour leaders recently brutalised for their convictions and beliefs; to the women who protest no food a decent education for their children; to our youth who struggle daily because of the lack of jobs; to civic society who has fought to find new ways tackle the issues we all face; and to the church and the Christian Alliance for its leadership's determination to continue to speak out for the voiceless.

All of these great Zimbabweans are heroes fighting for survival in a country
that showed a lot of promise at independence in 1980 but is now one of the poorest and a near hermetic nations on earth. All of these people - every one of them- fight every day for a new Zimbabwe. The work done by trade unions, students, peasants and thousands of political and Constitutional reform advocates to press Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF to see reason deserves special mention.

Who would have believed in 1980 that in 2006, only 26 years after Independence, Zimbabwe would have the highest inflation rate in the world? Workers would earn a mere Z$10 000 when the poverty datum line is Z$140 000? Who would have believed that 26 years after Independence the average life expectancy of a man in Zimbabwe would be 37 and for a woman 34, the lowest in the world in 2006?

The last advantage we have as a country is in the strength and resilience of our people. That is why we will not fail at this critical time in our history. It
will take all of us working together to solve this crisis: bishops, trade
unions, civic society, the MDC and other political parties, students and women.

But to save Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF have to address the known roadblocks to a new society. Although the crisis is clear to all, Mugabe and Zanu PF are refusing to realize that they have a role to play, like all Zimbabweans, and to end the current mess. Our understanding of democracy has always been rooted in our own reality and our sovereign status, but this must not be exploited to evade our obligations to posterity.

This crisis shall remain with us unless Mugabe and Zanu PF shift their mindset through a patriotic desire to save Zimbabwe from further haemorrhage.

The social costs of the Zimbabwean crisis has claimed a many a life. Acts of suppression and victimization have become visible throughout the country and even beyond. I need not remind you of cases of selective food distribution or even Operation Murambatsvina which invited the attention of the United Nations last year.

We believe the latest initiative from the Church, like previous efforts by both local and international political players to resolve the Zimbabwean crisis, shall lead us to a cul-de-sac as long as Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF remain stuck in a state of denial. The absence of a political will to attend to our bleeding nation has become the single biggest obstacle to progress.

A national consensus and a national vision shall remain elusive for as long as the dictatorship defines, in its own terms, what constitutes people's freedoms, people's choices and a people's way of life.

We believe it is important for our nation to heal its wounds and re-build for
the future, recognising that what binds us is far greater than what divides us, celebrating our diversity and differences as individuals and as communities, and with a common resolve to institute safeguards to ensure that never again will our dignity be undermined by any one person or political party.

While the church effort is a well intentioned and a noble attempt to reaffirm
what the rest of the country has been aware of for the past 26 years, a speedy breakthrough to this national crisis hinges on the behaviour of Mugabe and Zanu PF. The urgency of the matter cannot be over-emphasized. We believe Mugabe and Zanu PF must embrace the reality and allow the nation to express itself out of the crisis.

The crisis is essentially political; we need to work together and create an
enabling political environment for a national vision to be realized. We are
ready to make an unconditional contribution through open and principled dialogue towards a new Zimbabwe in the national interest.

In our national executive meeting we noted that Zimbabwe needs a stable
political environment to allow for a new Constitution; open the way for a free and fair election; and enable us to embark on a reconstruction agenda, national healing and a stabilization programme.

We further noted that the framework for new vision for Zimbabwe and of rights and responsibilities must be enshrined in a new Constitution and Bill of Rights that is the result of a comprehensive process of social debate in which all stakeholders and communities have a full and equal opportunity to participate and have their say in the drafting a new founding document.

A new Zimbabwe must be anchored on the foundation of equality - in which our country provides shelter and care for all women, men and children who live there, with equal access to justice, to public goods and services, and to economic opportunity and resources, and where no unlawful discrimination shall be accepted.

We re-stated our desire for a Zimbabwe that cherishes good governance,
compassion, solidarity, peace, security and respect for women, men and children.

We reaffirmed our subscription to the principle of sustainable development
grounded in prosperity, quality of life and community stability.

Given the humanitarian emergencies confronting our nation, we urge the Church to press Mugabe and Zanu PF to open the door to all in order to save Zimbabwe. We owe it to our children to resolve the national crisis speedily and to cast away our current pariah status in the eyes of the international
community.

The people of Zimbabwe need food, jobs, medical drugs and a good education system for their children. The people of Zimbabwe want to come back home and re-unite with their families. The people of Zimbabwe want to live well, with an affordable way of life. They want respect, at home and abroad. The people demand a new Constitution: an environment that shapes the future and allows for free and fair elections. The people of Zimbabwe want a respectable and accountable government.

I look forward to working with all Zimbabweans to build a better life for them and their families: to make Zimbabwe once again one of the richest countries in the world, where every young person has a job, where every child has plenty to eat, where every family can look to having their own home, where every old person can have quality health care - working together we can and will save Zimbabwe.

Morgan Tsvangirai is leader of a faction of Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change

Mugabe's prosecution and punishment!

By Admore Tshuma

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/opinion222.14957.html

Last updated: 11/08/2006 02:34:59

THE unprecedented economic meltdown coupled with gross violation of human rights in Zimbabwe merit the prosecution and punishment of Robert Mugabe.

After clinging to power for nearly three decades, Mugabe has made sure that he wholly paralyses the economy of a country once regarded as the brightest beacon of hope in southern Africa.

Today, Zimbabwe has been relegated to a begging bowl of southern Africa and according to latest World Bank figures, Zimbabweans now have the shortest life-span the world over. This is not political rhetoric but a product of a reliable scientific measurement.

The country is deep in poverty, and Mugabe is responsible for the severe deprivation of human basic needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. This is the exact and universally agreed definition of absolute poverty -- a condition which is more prevalent in Zimbabwe today.

I wish to argue that Mugabe is prosecutable and chargeable with systematic violations of economic, social and cultural rights which rise to the level of serious crime under international law as understood by the Princeton Principles of Universal Jurisdiction, interpreted in light of Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

With half of Zimbabwe's population facing grinding poverty and millions more having emigrated to other countries where some live miserably as illegal immigrants, just eke out a decent living, the systematic character of the violation of economic, social and cultural rights by Mugabe's regime have assumed a genocidal dimension.

How Mugabe created poverty in Zimbabwe is perhaps the simplest question that does not need academic research.

Mugabe is responsible for political repression, killing and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction in whole or in part, first for the vulnerable group, the Ndebeles and then Whites and then everyone.

This is against the background that we now live in a globalised village - what a political leader says or does in Harare makes a chain reaction all the way to Washington DC. It's the New World Order and it's unchangeable.

One might want to know, as human memory is very short, who are the actual victims of Mugabe's murderous regime, the answer is first they were the Ndebeles.then Whites..later everyone. Mugabe has always assumed that Ndebeles were by definition enemies and opponents of his regime. Remember, there was a time in the late 1980s when Mugabe tried to establish a one party state in Zimbabwe. He saw Ndebeles as a hindrance to his plans of a one-party state, hence he attempted to exterminate them.

This "genocide" was both ideological and national in character, for in effect, it sought to annihilate an entire political spectrum from Zimbabwe's public life by persecuting elite members of the Ndebele society.

There is no doubt that Mugabe's regime should be held accountable for the unprecedented levels of poverty, or what we would call social genocide. In my view, his crime stems from a deliberate reduction of the living standards of the country's poorest and working people, because of intentionally redistributing wealth upwards and reconcentrating wealth among his cronies. Using this theory of social genocides, one can authoritatively conclude that Mugabe's enemies (and victims) are the majority of Zimbabweans.

In addition, Mugabe's regime can be pursued under the 1986 Limburg Principles on the Implementation of the International Covenant on Economics, Social, and cultural Rights, echoed in part in the language quoted above from 1993 Vienna Declaration, the 1997 Maastricht Guidelines on Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the evolving General Comments of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the findings of Special Rapporteurs on related topics. Such principles, guidelines and comments are all essential elements of the emerging normative framework of international poverty law.

In the Maastricht Guidelines (1997), this emphasis is further elaborated: "It is now undisputed that all human rights are indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. Therefore, states are as responsible for violations of economic, social, and cultural rights as they are for violations of civil and political rights.

Violations of the Covenant occur when a state fails to satisfy what the committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has referred to as a minimum core obligation to ensure the satisfaction of, at the very least, minimum essential levels of each of the rights, thus a state Party in which any significant number of individuals is deprived of essential foodstuffs, of essential primary health care, of basic shelter and housing, or of the most basic forms of education, is pram facie, violating the Covenant.

What is more depressing is that even if Mugabe goes today, his legacy will continue to haunt Zimbabwe for many years to come. It manifests itself plainly in the form of hostility between Zimbabwe's two major tribes, Shona and Ndebele.

Because of Mugabe's earlier preachings of tribalism, Zimbabwe is today a more divided country than it was before independence in April 1980. This is evidenced by the fact that when one visits football grounds, internet chart rooms and so forth, there is a lot of tribal slurs going on.

These are some of the behavioural attitudes which our society has unwittingly inherited from Mugabe's quarrelsome brand of politics. Remember if Mugabe had not resorted to planting seeds of tribalism he would have lost the 1980 elections to Joshua Nkomo.

From independence, Mugabe's vampiric government lacked particularly a basic attribute of all laws, and that is the simple ability to provide rational guidance for exemplary conduct. For Zimbabwe to flourish and move on as an egalitarian society we need our version of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission whose major task would be to investigate the Mugabe regime crimes in order to reconcile and unite a deeply divided society.

What is more glaring is the deliberate inequality Mugabe tried to create between Ndebele and Shona - today Harare and Mashonaland are regarded by an average person from Matabeleland as upper class and privileged against the background of numerous skyscrapers and glassy buildings in Harare and well-constructed roads while Bulawayo is still reeling from medieval buildings put up by the Smith regime in the 1970s.

Perhaps leading British social scientist Prof Peter Townsend's definition of absolute poverty gives us a better insight of what is happening in Zimbabwe today. Prof Townsend argues in his celebrated work on poverty that individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary, or at least widely encouraged or approved, in the society to which they belong to.

According to the Bulawayo City Council, in the first six months of 2003, up 67 people died in the city as a result of malnutrition. The figure included both children and adults.

Zimbabweans lack many more necessities that are needed for a human being to properly function and participate in his society. Individuals or families whose resources are so small as to exclude them from the minimum acceptable way of life are said to be living in poverty. In the study of poverty and inequality we find that both financial exclusion and debt are associated with low income. Moreover, debt is strongly associated with a range of psychiatric problems.

Mugabe's laws are a deliberate ploy to bring down Matabeleland - salaries are higher in Harare even if people are doing the same job with same qualifications and working for the same company. What seems to be a problem is to be based in Matabeleland. And more daring was the fact that in the 1990's, the Chronicle newspaper which I worked for, earned more revenue for Zimpapers, but still Herald employees in Harare were paid far much higher than Chronicle workers.

When I was still at The Chronicle, firebrand politician Welshman Mabhena once told me that Mugabe has a secret agenda to destroy the Ndebele as a society. Mabhena said Mugabe blames Ndebeles for his miserable, fatherless childhood.

Mabhena said Mugabe's father walked out on the family and left his wife to fend for the off-springs to live with a beautiful woman in Bulawayo's Makokoba suburb, identified as MaTshuma, and has never forgiven the Ndebele for his miserable upbringing. According to Mabhena, Mugabe achieved revenge for his troubled childhood by sending the 5 Brigade to kill the Ndebeles.

For the greater part of my seven years at The Chronicle, I worked with many Shona people, journalists, clerks, messengers etc - most of them, if not all could not even attempt to speak in Ndebele except for those who grew up in Bulawayo. Yet all Ndebele employees at Chronicle did speak fluent Shona. It is not their fault.

Remember, when Mugabe appeared on television in the mid-1980s, he deliberately twisted his tongue, coming up with a horrible accent in an attempt to say a Ndebele word. He was in a deliberate contempt of the Ndebele language. However, Mabhena argues that Mugabe can speak in Ndebele fluently as the two were teachers at Hope Fountain on the outskirts of Bulawayo - implying what Mugabe intended to demonise the Ndebele language and its values, hence no Shona child would envy to speak a demonised language.

I had an opportunity to be among reporters who listened to Mugabe's speech on the funeral of Joshua Nkomo in Bulawayo's Ascot stadium. I can reveal that, on this day he spoke fluent Ndebele without even fumbling. I thought to myself: "Mr President you have finally invoked your Hope Fountain Primary School days".

What I found more interesting is when I visited South Africa recently, I found out that in every street there is a Zimbabwean who happens to be Shona and they all speak in Zulu which is close to Ndebele. The excuse we were given by our fellow employees at Chronicle was that Ndebele was such a difficult language to learn as it involved learning to pronounce cliques omankankane or uxakuxaku. As a head of state Mugabe's hatred of the Ndebele people was never a secret which penetrated deep into the social fabric of society. Even children in Matabeleland know that Mugabe hates Ndebeles so is vice versa in Mashonaland.

Unfortunately, such a behavioural attitude is contagious even among the unborn generation. There is alarming hostility among the two tribes, this hostility turns out to be Mugabe's strength. For example, consider what happened in the run up to the division of the opposition MDC. Under normal circumstances, and in a proper democratic institution, Tsvangirai should have been ostracised for what he did. He called in for a vote and when he lost that vote he decided to use brute force, so what is the difference between Tsvangirai and Mugabe?

W2hen some dissenting voices queried and tried to bring in sanity in the name of democracy, they were simply labelled "dissident Ndebeles", because of that label very few Shona people would support the rebelling Ndebeles.

The purpose of my article is to argue that a leader such as Mugabe who has presided over the world's fastest shrinking economy, thereby, condemning the entire population to poverty is guilty of social genocidal crimes and crimes against humanity which should be prosecutable at the international court of tribunal.

To start with, designing and legislating brainless policies which result in mass poverty is a crime on its own. Apart from the 20 000 Ndebele speaking people of Matabeleland who were massacred by Mugabe's Fifth Brigade, estimates say up to 10 000 people from Matabeleland disappeared and had not been accounted for to date.

Murderous state-sponsored hit squads have been in existence at least since the independence of Zimbabwe in April 1980 and are widely acknowledged to have stirred up much dissident activity in Matabeleland in order to justify the killing of civilians in the region.

There is a school of thought which says the six European tourists killed at Esigodini area allegedly by the dissidents were in fact murdered by Mugabe's murderous hit squads in order to justify the deployment of the Fifth Brigade.

There is no doubt that Mugabe and his government are guilty of crimes against humanity. To some extent, crimes against humanity overlap with genocide and war crimes.

But crimes against humanity are distinguishable from genocide in that they do not require an intent to "destroy in whole or in part" as cited in the Genocide Convention of 1948, but only target a given group and carry out a policy of widespread or systematic violations. Crimes against humanity apply in the context of war and in times of peace as well.

The good thing about it is that no one is immune to prosecution for crimes against humanity - this applies to those who acted on behalf of the state and even the head of the state himself is not immune.

The Geneva Convention, states that if the head of state sends an army to a
troubled area or province, and that army happen to target civilians, the head of state is guilty of war crimes. The Convention goes on to state that, under such circumstances it is the duty of any nation or anyone else to prosecute or the International Criminal Court has a right to indict the head of state with his accomplices.

What makes the Zimbabwe situation more needy is the gruesome killings of people of Matabeleland especially in Tsholotsho, Lupane and Gwanda.

Coming back to the crunch of my paper, the sorry state of the Zimbabwe's economy here does not need us to consult a rocket scientist or a Professor of economics. I'm sure even a young school boy would tell you that Mugabe and his gangsters have messed up, and the destruction of our economy was long expected.

Much of Mugabe's legislations are so capricious in their drafting as well as in their application. Above all, the whole battery of laws makes political dissent a crime. The normal functions of a responsible citizenry becomes the business of the country's jailers. Mugabe's government has increasingly conferred forms of lawless discretion on his functionaries in the civil service, the police and the military. The deployment of the state's resources to inflict random terror and assassination on the state's own citizens.

Poverty levels are unprecedented and Mugabe, like a woman in a polygamous relationship, keeps on churning abuse at George Bush and Tony Blair - guess what, they don't reply back they just shut up.

When a BBC reporter confronted Tony Blair in 2002 at the height of bloody farm invasions, and asked him why he was not engaging Mr Mugabe in talks Mr Blair simply said: "I will not sit in a round table conference with a leader guilty of mass murder. In fact, I will do everything for him to go."

Blair and the whole international community can go a step further than just pushing for Mugabe's exit. He should be brought to account for his murderous reign and sermons of hatred that have divided our beautiful land.

Admore Tshuma is a former Chronicle Chief Reporter now reading for a PhD at the University of Bristol specialising in Global Poverty, Social Justice and Human Rights Law.

He can be contacted on atshuma@hotmail.com

Great words from Mr Peter Moyo!

I think people need to stop talking about Mugabe and ask themselves what they really are doing for the country and themselves. Mugabe is a passing generation and he is not the air we breathe and he is neither Zimbabwe and nor Zimbabwe Mugabe – so, stop crying and talking about regime change as the solution. Recently we have seen that the civil society from the opposition MDC to Madhuku's NCA who are rewriting constitutions willy nilly are part of the problem instead of being the solution

 

Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

NOBEL PRIZE FOR PROF JONATHAN MOYO!

ex www.zimonline.co.za
Tues 21 September 2004

Assuming there was a Nobel Prize for hypocrisy and arrogance, Prof. Jonathan Moyo, the Zimbabwe Minister of State for Information and Publicity in the Office of the President would qualify with a distinction. He deserves the biscuit for abandoning his earlier crusade as an opponent of government's propensity to stifle media freedom. In his yesteryears as an academic, Prof. Moyo accused the government-controlled media of failing the nation. "Their brief is to report ZANU PF affairs as if the ruling party is greater than the nation" Prof. Moyo wrote in the then privately owned Financial Gazette in 1992, adding that this journalistic docility sometimes took on disgusting proportions, "as when the media reports whatever Mr. Mugabe says and wherever he says it without analyzing its contents. Presumably, this is in keeping with the ZANU PF doctrine of presidential infallibility," he lamented.  The paradigm has changed for Prof. Moyo. His new pre-occupation with ZANU (PF) is like reading Dr. Faust's classic tale about the highly intelligent professor who signs a pact with the devil in return for infinite wisdom and power; more like doing a bad thing for a good reason. First, he surprised many by joining ZANU (PF), the party he once denounced as authoritarian and for this bold move, Prof Moyo was rewarded. Today, he is ZANU (PF)'s information and publicity secretary, a presidential appointee to parliament and government minister solely responsible for policy and regulation of all media in Zimbabwe. Ironically, in his short term as a minister, Prof. Moyo has authored media laws considered by many commentators as the most repressive in the history of post-independence Zimbabwe. A case in point is the enactment of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), without any broad consultation with the 'nation'. AAIPA was an offer that the majority of freedom loving journalists in Zimbabwe couldn't possibly accept and for this the scribes are paying a heavy prize. AAIPA has put more and more journalists in prison, a great number of them for crimes related to their professional livelihood. The Zimbabwe Chapter of the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA) reports that more than thirty- (30) journalists were detained or charged from January 2003 to date, for contravening sections of AAIPA.  This is intriguing, given Prof Moyo's well documented past as a 'freedom loving academic'.  His turn-around logic translates to a 'Thank you very much. It was important that you were mobilized then, but now that l am in power on your behalf, you either shut-up or face-up". According to MISA-Zimbabwe, AAIPA does not provide the public with access to any real and relevant information. "In reality the Act's purpose is protecting the institution of the government from scrutiny by prohibiting and heavily penalizing public/media inquiry and scrutiny into its affairs, and in addition by an unrestrained control over journalists and media companies", argues MISA. Prof Moyo posits that unless the police and courts aggressively crack down what they term 'anti-government press', social cohesion would degenerate into anarchy. He argues that even the constitutionally contested legal provisions such as journalists not registering with the MIC, contribute to an anything goes atmosphere in which serious social disobedience would proliferate. In all Prof. Moyo has said or done, he has claimed adherence to the treasured philosophy of 'public or national interest'. However, it is precisely his definition of what is in the public interest that is contested. Further, Prof. Moyo has positioned himself as the embodiment of the nation or the public's negotiator, who represents the nation's interests, our interests.  But who really should define for media operators and journalists what is in the public or national interest? In the case of Zimbabwe, Prof. Moyo has claimed the right to singularly define the national or public interest. He then expects the media to uphold his definition without question. This attitude confirms the most lurid of scare stories about party functionaries running out of control. Sadly for Prof. Moyo, it has been hard to find Zimbabweans who do not see AAIPA as a repressive legislation that is either undesirable or unjust. What is worse is that several prominent ZANUPF supporters, recognizing that AAIPA threatens the sustainability of their own media enterprises, the party and government, are slowly distancing themselves from Prof. Moyo's position. Certainly, hope is not all lost. First, if in the past, Prof. Moyo was able to change his mind, he can do it again. Second, much as lasting damage has been inflicted to Zimbabwe's reputation as a thriving democracy, it seems there has not been much success in destroying the hopes of all freedom and peace-loving journalists who now realize that defending the public or national interests may mean challenging the government and public officials of the day. That is precisely what Prof. Jonathan Moyo did in his past life.

Appeal from Bro F Maguwu.......

Dear Rev Hove.

I think you may still be familiarising with my name since I have contributed to your blog a few days ago. Currently I am in Austria studying for an Advanced ceritificate in Peace and Conflict Studies. I established a Civic Advocacy Organisation in Zimbabwe called Civic Alliance for democracy and Governance (CADEGO). We are involved in human rights and good governance workshops in rural Zimbabwe. CADEGO works in partnership with the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. We have heard prominent human rights lawyers such as Otto Saki and Hope Ngara speak at our workshops. Our main objective is to depoliticize traditional leaders and work with rural people in the field of human rights and good leadership. We talk of the human rights and good governance, the role of the citizen to choose good leaders and what are the qualities of good leadersgood leaders. We have already conducted numerous workshops in Mutasa South, Makoni West and Mutare South.

 

 

Our main challenge is related to resources. We are appealing for your help in mobilising resources for this noble task. As you are aware, rural Zimbabwe need to be liberated from the chains of fear and liberation war myth. It is our hope that we will be able to join hands with other Zimbabweans and ensure that people in rural areas make informed decisions when choosing leaders and in many other issues relating to civility.

 

Thank you

 

Yours truly

 

fmaguwu@yahoo.com or

cadego08@yahoo.com

Farai Maguwu

The death of Robert Mugabe....the tragedy ahead!

Time running out for Mugabe to step aside

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/viewinfo.cfm?linkid=21&id=3998
By Jonathan Moyo

WHATEVER perspective one takes on the Zimbabwean crisis it is now clear that the endgame has come for President Robert Mugabe.

Yet the only person who does not appreciate this self-evident fact is Mugabe himself who is in chronic denial under the delusion that everyone else is wrong and that he is right and mistake-free. This more than anything else now accounts for the continuation of the Zimbabwean crisis.
It remains to be seen how Mugabe is going to play his endgame as the crisis deepens. Will he continue to put his political interests above those of the country and will he continue to blame everyone else but himself?

However he plays his endgame, the outcome is certain to lead to a radical policy change or regime change failure in which Zimbabwe will be engulfed by unprecedented anarchy and chaos.
Because the Zimbabwean crisis has been left unresolved for too long since 1997, and because the ruling party and government have remained in denial about its causes and effects, the crisis has now become institutionalised. This is what has led to massive economic collapse, institutional breakdown and the erosion of public values.

And Mugabe has become the embodiment of the institutionalised crisis such that his departure alone would be cathartic for the country.

An institutionalised crisis is necessarily beyond the patchwork of policy tinkering and it will require an overhaul of one sort or another. This is why a post-Mugabe Zimbabwe will necessarily require a fundamental policy change in terms of a new economic vision and strategy supported by the international community and constitutional regime change by way of a new democratic constitution endorsed by the electorate in a free and fair referendum.

The alternative would be anarchy and chaos, which is not an option at all.

Time is running out for Mugabe to do what Tanzania’s founding president, Julius Nyerere, did: step aside and let government be run by a dynamic, competent and accountable leader from his party while concentrating on gradually reduced party responsibilities.

Mugabe needs to show that he is capable of statesmanship and that he has the leadership quality to put the national interest above his self-preservation. So far he has failed dismally.
A Nyerere option even at this eleventh hour would give Mugabe a face-saving opportunity which he can use to safeguard his checkered legacy and to secure the long-term interests of his very young family. He can do this by publicly indicating to Zimbabweans in clear and categorical terms that he not only accepts that his time is now up but that he also understands that Zimbabwe desperately needs a new policy framework underwritten by a constitutional regime change.

Such a bold move by Mugabe would be much more meaningful than his current idle and misplaced talk about building phantom bridges with the British to nowhere from a crisis which he has created. No-one wants to build bridges with Mugabe to help him escape consequences of his misrule.

It is important for Mugabe to clarify his future because so far he has not been honest with himself and suffering Zimbabweans. He has been playing hide and seek with the nation while dishing out patronage which he confuses with patriotism and breeding cronyism and instilling fear all over the place which he confuses with respect and loyalty.

Slightly over a year ago Mugabe hinted, not to Zimbabweans but to the foreign media in Malaysia, that he might retire in 2008. He had also done the same to the Kenya and Zambia media before that. But since then he has been sending conflicting hints through his cronies who keep pretending otherwise by telling him what he wants to hear.

Mugabe’s blunt propagandists have flooded the media with Machiavellian suggestions that, notwithstanding his old age, palpable incompetence and growing unpopularity, he may very well seek re-election in 2008 because the Zimbabwean constitution does not have presidential term limits.

Lost to these propagandists is the writing on the wall that Mugabe would be humiliated big time if he dares voters in 2008 by seeking reelection.

Not to be outdone by the propagandists with whom they compete for Mugabe’s patronage under the false cover of patriotism, some security men have been falling over each other scheming the enactment of a dubious constitutional amendment to enable Mugabe to extend his rule to 2010 by subverting the electoral will of the people in 2008 through a patronage election by the two houses of the Zanu PF-dominated parliament sitting as an electoral college.

Curiously what seems to have eluded Mugabe and his supportive yet divided propagandists and securocrats is the God-given truth that their boss is made of weak human flesh and has a temporary spirit just like the rest of us and is therefore not immortal. In view of Mugabe’s clear old age, he can succumb to the inevitable.

In that case the nation can wake up to a new day without Mugabe, just like it happened to Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo and Simon Muzenda. In that event, the constitution as it stands would require the holding of presidential election within 90 days.

All present unequal things in Zimbabwe being there, one can only imagine what would ensue in those 90 eventful days given the self-evident fact that Mugabe has not groomed a widely supported successor because he does not want any while he is alive.

Add to this that Zanu PF does not have any rule-bound, transparent and democratic succession plan to calm and inspire the party faithful who have been made all these troubled years to think Mugabe is Zanu PF and vice versa.

Further add that the opposition MDC is deeply divided and profoundly weakened by that division such that it is currently unable to rally the nation towards a common purpose. Neither of the factions is strong enough to win a national and popular mandate to rule with stability.
Add that Zimbabwe’s state security agencies are classically prone to the use of brutality under the cover of law and order and factor in that the country is in the throes of an unprecedented economic meltdown that has rendered many out there jobless, penniless and homeless while ravaging business enterprises.

It is without doubt that, as things stand, all hell would break loose and there would be blood on the floor should Mugabe not wake up tomorrow precipitating a presidential election within 90 days. Zimbabwe would be on fire under these explosive conditions.

This real possibility of Mugabe not waking up tomorrow followed by a 90-day election is much more serious than the glib hope or wish that Mugabe will be around to seek reelection in 2008 because Zimbabwe’s constitution has no term limits.

The same applies to the sycophantic retort that Zanu PF commands a two-thirds majority that can be used to amend the constitution in order to extend Mugabe’s rule from 2008 to 2010 without a popular vote.

What for?

When made aware that Zimbabwe could slip into anarchy and chaos within 90 days of Mugabe meeting his God, his propagandists and securocrats take the delusional view that the country’s security forces have an unparalleled capacity to maintain law and order by nipping any trouble in the bud as they did during the dreadful Operation Murambatsvina.

It is shocking that some politically ambitious security chiefs believe that it is part of unwritten Zanu PF law that Mugabe should remain in office until his death, as happened with Nkomo and Muzenda. They also believe that any 90 days of chaos should Mugabe die in office would be a great opportunity for them to move from de facto to de jure running of the country.

Perhaps the reason the men with guns believe this is that they know only too well that they have been Mugabe’s source of power since 1977 when some of them elevated him to the presidency of Zanu after initially making him their spokesperson. They also know that Mugabe consolidated his power between 1980 and 1990 through the brutal abuse of the state of emergency inherited from Rhodesia which was controlled and run by men with guns who also held the keys to torture chambers.

Furthermore, the securocrats know that to this day Mugabe’s closest and most trusted political and economic advisers are security leaders of the Joint Operations Command created by Ian Smith in Rhodesia to oppress blacks. In essence, the security men know Mugabe has been their hostage president since 1977 and they don’t want him to be replaced, except by themselves!
What this means is that there are some delusional security men in our midst who do not understand how, for example, the Soviet Union, East Germany or apartheid South Africa collapsed when their security agencies were among the world’s most feared and most notorious in terms of their brutality.

The one enduring lesson from these cases of fallen security power is that in the end politics always triumphs over the gun. This is why Mugabe’s unchallenged security strength since 1977 is now his greatest political weakness as he now plays his endgame.

The only person best positioned to deal with this is Mugabe himself through a much-delayed Nyerere option or better still a Nelson Mandela one.

If Mugabe has become so self-serving that he cannot do what everyone can see is the right thing or if his security men have become so irresponsible that they want him to remain as their hostage while the country is bleeding, then the people of Zimbabwe including those in Zanu PF should do the right thing by rising up to the challenge to save the country.

There is just no other option. Otherwise, chaos is looming.

* Professor Jonathan Moyo (moyoz@mweb.co.zw) is a political scientist and independent MP for Tsholotsho.

Messages to the State President of the Republic of South Africa!

I believe that many of you remember that I once wrote a letter to the State President of the Republic of South Africa.

We have established a website which we will agigate for the leadership of South Africa to read for enlightenment on the Zimbabwean situation.

Please visit http://www.dearmrthabombeki.blogspot.com/ and you can send your own contributions directly by posting to revmshove.izenzo@blogger.com .

You can also visit http://www.zimfinalpush.blogspot.com/ for other Zim views!

I will not edit anything but I reserve the right to remove offensive or irrelevant material!

Over to you maZimbo! As you now ALL know....ini I'm a South African Citizen but fully involved in the struggle for the expected "New Zimbabwe!"

Yours in the Struggle,
Rev Mufaro Stig Hove...The Radical Soldier....Cell: 0791463039 RSA.
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20 November 2006

PETITION TO HIS EXCELLENCY, THE STATE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, CDE THABO MBEKI30th November 2004Your Excellency, the situation in Zimbabwe is a very pathetic one. The bottom line of it all is that the common man is subjected to artificial suffering.
The country of Zimbabwe has the capacity and the potential to be a happy, prosperous nation but the prevailing situation is really pathetic.
It is common knowledge, sir, millions are leaving and have already left the country because of the appalling economic, social and precarious political situation.
What saddens many of us is that the Zimbabweans fleeing to the Republic of South Africa are being treated in a manner that leaves a lot to be desired (to put it mildly).The detention centres at Lindela and other places are reportedly not fit and conducive for respectable human habitation.
The misguided thinking in South Africa (allegedly propagated by yourself, Your Excellency) is that since there is no "war" in Zimbabwe, there is no reason for the huge influx of Zimbabweans into your country.
Unsuccessful efforts are therefore done by your Government to deport many of these sad ill-fated Zimbabweans with the result that some of them jump from trains to certain death.
We feel that it is very inhuman and unfair for the South African community to treat their own fathers and sisters from across the Limpopo River in that manner more so since it is common knowledge that Your Excellency has announced that you will not actively assist the two main political parties to engage in dialogue preferring rather a dubious "no action", the so-called "quiet diplomacy".
The truth about the political situation in Zimbabwe is that it is (for all practical purposes) a criminal offence to belong to the Movement for Democratic change (MDC).
Members and sympathisers of the MDC are harassed, tortured, raped, unjustifiably imprisoned etc.
The economy itself is in a mess such that for basic survival, millions have been reduced to scavengers, destitutes and prostitutes.
We are therefore disappointed that in spite of the capacity at your disposal to prevail on the ZANU PF regime to return to a state of sanity, Your Excellency has decided to "bury his head in the sand" and pretend that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe.
Incidentally, Your Excellency, I, Mufaro Stig Hove, am a South African Citizen by birth having been born at Bethania Hospital, Dundee, Natal in 1956.
Incidentally, I am also a Minister of the Christian Religion having been trained at the Union Bible Institute in Pietermaritzburg, Natal (1979-1981).
I humbly seek your audience to represent the people of Zimbabwe, whom I honestly feel and see are getting a hostile reception from their brothers and sisters in the Republic of South Africa.
I remain,
Your humble citizen.Mufaro Stig Hove
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%Received by Mr Willem Geerlings…First Secretary (Political)South African Embassy (in HARARE). Assured of onward transmission today to Pretoria.11.30 am, 30th Nov, 2004.

MDC outlines land policy!

ex http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/viewinfo.cfm?id=2616

BY GIFT PHIRI

HARARE - Zimbabwe's main wing of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says should it win power, it would not revoke the 99-year leases granted to new farmers last week by President Robert Mugabe, but would establish an Independent Land Commission whose first task would be to audit the situation.
Contrary to expectations that the Zimbabwe government's land resettlement exercise would benefit landless peasants, Mugabe last week gave 99-year-leases for prime farms grabbed from whites to only 125 top army, government and Zanu (PF) officials, as well the chief correspondent at state monopoly radio and television, which has sycophantically driven Mugabe's propaganda offensive, under the murky commercial settlement scheme. Among Mugabe's cronies allocated the 99-year leases were Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings chief correspondent Reuben Barwe, war veterans Joseph Chinotimba, the leader and self-styled commander of farm invasions, Elliot Manyika, Minister Without Portfolio, Webster Bepura, a top Mugabe loyalist, Menard Muzariri, a senior Central Intelligence Organisation operative and Dick Mafiosi, a Mugabe loyalist, among others.
"We cannot reverse what has been done, but we cannot endorse what has been done," anti-senate MDC faction president Morgan Tsvangirai said.
He said the ruling party's method of grabbing the land was wrong, even though it was backed by sound ideals.
"Zanu (PF) has embarked on this disastrous land grabbing exercise. We, as the MDC, think the method was wrong, the objectives might be right … what we want as MDC is a process to rationalise the reform programme so that it becomes equitable, transparent and deals with this historical grievance," Tsvangirai said.
He said once his party came to power it would conduct land audits to find out who owned which farms and how many.
This stems from allegations that many of the Zanu (PF) and government officials are multiple farm owners.
"(The audit) is going to reveal who has got what, and clearly set up a mechanism of a land commission to deal with redistribution, land reform itself, assistance to farmers and the progressive support that should be given for food service sufficiency," he said.
Responding to Tsvangirai's comments, Zanu (PF) spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira admitted that "there might have been problems with land allocation".
"But we are dealing with it, we are investigating the problem as government," Shamuyarira said.
He was referring to a probe into the land issue conducted by government, but whose report has been kept under wraps.
"We cannot go back to the pre-2000 situation in which Mr Joe Bloke who has now run away, is in Australia, we say come and get back your land. We cannot go back to that," said Tsvangirai.
Mugabe announced that a total of 140,698 families had been resetlled on A1 plots on 2,740 grabbed farms. A further 14,856 farmers are on 2,280 farms under A2, but out of all these, only 125 handpicked farmers were given leases.
This has drawn accusations that Mugabe was rewarding his loyalists in a programme which he claims is meant to benefit the poor.

Churches' document addresses real issues!!

The churches seem to have infuriated some people because they have supported the land reform programme and did not mention or support the illegal and internationally condemned but United States and British-promoted regime change policy. This is unfortunate because the document titled The Zimbabwe We Want: Towards a National Vision For Zimbabwe contains pertinent issues that have caused the polarisation of our nation and the subsequent problems that we face. The churches have not shied away from tackling the aggregate challenges that have besieged Zimbabwe. More importantly, the church advances a very important factor that is contributing immensely to the disintegration of Zimbabwe as a nation – morality. Anyone who is still a decent human being should take heed of the challenge by the churches to examine their values because their erosion destroys a nation. Indeed we have seen, and the church rightly points so, the erosion of our values of ubuntu. We are nurturing some corrupt politicians, killers, thieves, liars, rapists, corporate looters, etc. We have lost the values that are the basic requisite for building a viable nation. No amount of a democratic constitution or social institutions would be functional if we do not have people driven by such values as trust, loyalty, tolerance and respect for human life.While we have had differences as a nation, it is the lack or even the adoption of these negative values that has and still exacerbates our problems as a nation. The church rightly implores us to come together as children of the same house. That of course, does not mean been homogenous, as the churches note, but unite in diversity. This is a strength and not a weakness.The call by the churches for national reconciliation is very pertinent. There are a lot of genuinely aggrieved Zimbabweans such as the Gukurahundi victims in Matabeleland and Midlands. The churches rightly point out that the silence of the people does not indicate that they have forgiven and forgotten. They are silently grieving and indeed “genuine reconciliation [would be]…possible only when the truth has been told, confession made and forgiveness received”. Gukurahundi marked a lingering dark patch in our history and it is one of the key challenges that the nation has to address as part of our rebirth.The churches document inadvertently comes at an opportune for the government and it would use it as proof that they are responsive to issues of national concern. That would be an advantageous step to take, which could be likened to the benefit the land reform gave to Zanu PF. It does not matter that the Movement for Democratic Change has articulated some of these issues; the government has found it easy to accept the document because it believed that it was presented by a supposedly neutral stakeholder and also that it addresses the key issues of concern to Zimbabweans. MDC could have easily produced such a document but the problem is that it would be premised on regime change and flawed scenarios.One hopes that MDC does not make another grave era - as in opposing land reform – but instead buy into this document and prevent the government from seeming to be the one solely embracing it. If that happens, the government could use the document as a strategic election campaign platform. It would use it as evidence to demonstrate how MDC steadfastly refuses, time and again, to participate in nation building. Besides, it is also easy to advance an argument that, since the document dwells so much on the land reform, MDC is once again stalling because it is opposed to the land reform. The government could also match their other current efforts such as the anti-corruption drive and land reform to point as evidence that they are, in fact, in the process of dealing with the many issues contained in the document. Identifying with issues in the document would suggest that the government indeed understands the issues of concern to the people.Zanu–PF Information and Publicity Secretary Dr Nathan Shamuyarira has already been reported by this paper saying that his party is taking steps to limit to two, the presidential terms as well as harmonise the presidential and parliamentary elections. The fact that the government saw mileage in that document influenced its acceptance at once. The issues that are outlined in that document are the real concerns people are crying about and those that have hurt our nation. The document still has its weaknesses. It is sad that the churches deny that there are economic sanctions targeted against the country as opposed to the so-called individuals “targeted sanctions”. The churches also make a mistaken assumption that just because they are the churches they would be able to influence the Western governments beholden to suspiciously racist motives and neo-liberal capitalists. Land is the basis of capitalism and it would be difficult, if not impossible for these Western countries to accept a settlement that incorporates comprehensive land reforms. They have said it several times that they need Zimbabwe to move back to pre-2000 land ownership structure, which is totally unacceptable. Yes, we do not need to take possession of all the land from our fellow white brothers (and not discriminate them on the mere colour of their skin), but we still need to redistribute land for social justice purposes. There is nothing amiss about that except for those unjust people who do not believe that our disadvantaged, yet precious landless mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters deserve to perpetually live in poverty. The churches talk about building bridges with the “international community”. This is confusing because Zimbabwe already enjoys good relations with the international community. The churches must not incorporate the imperialist language of viewing the “international community” as the West. The danger is that the moment we start using the language of the “international community” then the church would defeat their otherwise progressive document. But indeed, we need to have good relations with the West but these relations must be based on mutual respect and respect for our sovereignty – not to undermine us through attempts to support the illegal regime change policy.Kuthula Matshazi (kuthulamatshazi@yahoo.co.uk) is a Zimbabwean journalist writing from Toronto, Canada.

A PLEA FROM THE RADICAL SOLDIER!

This is a personal message from me, Rev Mufaro Stig Hove (The Radical Soldier) to you mese/ nonke maZimbabweans.

You suffered under Ian Smith...then even more under an expected Liberator, one Robert Mugabe.

You voted overwhelmingly for the Opposition MDC consistently from its inception in 1999.

The President of the MDC , the one and only Morgan Tsvangirai is the Legitimate Executive President of the Republic of Zimbabwe.


But wait.......... I appreciate the concerns of the so-called "Pro-Senate Faction."

Prof A Mutambara and Mr E Cross among other leaders of that "Faction" view this website.

Our plea to you all is: Please solve this whole matter amicably!

Tsvangirai should have learnt a lesson or two from this year-old episode ( I mean about that 12th October,2005 episode.)

Please reconcile and we will be healed!

Baba Gibson Sibanda xola baba! (Mr G Sibanda, please forgive!)

I know how much Mr Tsvangirai hurt you (even personally!)

Please lets forgive each other and move forward!

But no forgiveness for Robart (sic) Mugabe and Jonathan (Mafikizolo) Moyo!

Rev Mufaro Stig Hove...The Radical Soldier.
(revmshove@yahoo.co.uk)

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F Maguwu chips in!

I am not an insider in the MDC debacle but i am a well informed citizen. However, being a follower of whats happening in Zimbabwe today i cant help but conclude that Zimbabwe has suffered a political scandal of monumental proportions. To discuss whether the two MDC factions have to unite or not we must first try to understand why they split in the first place. They argue it was over ideological differences on whether to participate in the senatoriral elections or not. Then we move on to the public opinion level. What did the people (majority of MDC supporters) wanted? They wanted a boycott of the election. And this was confirmed by the low voter turnout.

Knowning fully well the public disgust with the creation of an extravagant upper house that is irrelevent to the needs of the impoverished populace, Ncube and his colleagues chose to seal their ears with sealing wax and participate in the election. The move was intended to frustrate the MDC membership and destroy the party that had given the people reason to believe. They wanted MDC supporters to turn against the party leadership. It was treasonous to say the least. They were driven by greed and selfish ambition at the expense of common good. They showed a selfish craving for wealth and fame without consideration of the poor whom they claim to represent. Now, with the Senate in place and the Senators enjoying hefty financial benefits in the upper house, Zimbabwe is poorer than it was in October 2005. This exonerates Morgan Tsvangirai who stood up to challenge the relevence of Senate without addressing the problems of poverty.

Added to this is the sudden resurrection of Prof Arthur Mutambara from the political cemetary where he was buried sometime back in 1989. He comes and starts masquarading as the MDC President, announcing his position as the anti-senate leader of the pro-senate MDC! What a joke? If Mutambara did not agree with his group on such a defining ideological concept then why did he join them. It means two things to me. Either the grouping is nothing more than political boozers with no intention of challenging the ruling ZANU PF or their pro-senate position was simply taken as a means to an end. The end in this case is to destroy the MDC. It was also character assassination of Morgan Tsvangirai. Certainly the conspiracy theory is relevent here.

If Mutambara was a true politician worth his salt he was going to say, "fine guys, whatever happened i wasnt there when you started your MDC party and now we want to start something new that will cause a real political earthquake. Lets design a name and show Zimbabweans what we are made of". Alas, he chose to hold on to the MDC. Ok lets talk of voting. Dont they think of the confussion among voters who may fail to distinguish between the two factions. Dont they care about losing some of their votes to their rival. It leads to one conclussion. The Mutambara led MDC was createwd by the ZANU PF Politburo to stop the MDC from seizing power from ZANU PF. I foresee this impasse continuing till the 2008 Presidential and 2010 general elections. The whole purpose is to weaken the opposition and strengthen ZANU. So Mutambara is doing what ZANU PF hired him to do.

So then is there any need to unite the two factions. Absolutely no. There is no need to work together with people whom you cant trust. Was it not Paul who asked, "How can two walk together unless they agree". Tsvangirai led MDC must not be so desperate to the extend of forging unity with pseudo politicians. At times you must agree to go separate ways for the sake of progress. I think this is the reason why God did not seek reconciliation with Satan (formerly Lucifer, meaning the bright shinning star). Because of the gravity of Lucifer's betrayal God saw that there was possibility that the same betrayal would occur again in the future. The solution was to eternally bar him from heaven. This is a defining moment, no betrayers must be allowed to derail the people's freedom train.

Thank you

Kindest regards

Farai Maguwu

Mr B Musonza's views!

I have had to intervene.

I do agree with Mangwengwende on the trend of opposition forces being viewed as "enemy" in the war-like spirit, eventually leading to a defacto one party state. I attribute this scenario to the failure of the current leadership or their cynical eager to prolong the colonial structures well into an independent Zimbabwe in order to crush opposition forces in the same way the racial war was fought. Without being scientific, or over reliance on textbook theories, I will state out the facts and where Bob and Joshu lost it.

"The first head of the CIO was Deputy Commissioner Ken Flower; during his tenure the BSAP Special Branch Headquarters were incorporated within the CIO, while the Special Branch retained its internal security function within the BSAP.

Astonishingly, Prime Minister Robert Mugabe was content to keep Ken Flower in the role of Head of the CIO after majority rule in 1980, when the country's name changed to Zimbabwe. This was seen by some commentators as proof that Flower had worked covertly and intermittently with the British intelligence services to undermine Ian Smith's government, and was in sharp contrast to the treatment of General Peter Walls, chief of the Rhodesian Armed Forces, who was exiled and deprived of Zimbabwean citizenship in 1980"

In cahoots with the South African double agents, these Rhodesian CIO operatives planted some weapons in ZAPU farms, to fix Nkomo for what they thought was his brutal act in bringing down two civilian Air Rhodesia Viscount aircrafts in 1977,79 and his close alliance with the Russians, while South Africans feared he could influence Inkonto We Sizwe, the ANC armed wing. They succeeded and Joshua Nkomo got into trouble and so is the whole of Matabeleland region.
In that context, Mugabe undermined himself early in his leadership credentials to transform the liberation politics into a fully fledged democracy, because he felt he had to brutally crush, unknowingly, a Ken Flower-South African manufactured rebellion in Matabeleland that was only stopped by a Zanu-Zapu Unity Accord initiative which eventually swallowed a vital regional opposition party and with politicians from both sides conniving to the extension of Ian Smith's oppressive legislation to thwart their perceived enemies using State machinery hence the Law and Order Maintenance Act still exist today.

So, Mugabe was duped big time by Ken Flower and his 1980 delegation into the intelligence integration process led by the grossly over-hyped Emerson Munangagwa was found wanting as they chased shadows, while Prime Minister got obsessed with playing to the gallery and did not bother to look at the bigger picture of transforming a nation from the post liberation politics. How a Socialist party worked with Ken Flower as head of the CIO, is incompatible with reality?
Joshua Nkomo made his own fatal errors of judgement in his over ambitious engagement of the Russians who supplied him with sophisticated weaponry, like the armoured tanks stationed in Angola and Zambia an the well equipped ZIPRA overzealously shot down civilian aircraft in search of one man, General Peter Walls and asked about it on BBC Nkomo was making it a laughing matter, bragging and so when he went into exile fleeing Mugabe and Ken Flower-South African Agents' unholy alliance, he could not get asylum in the Western World forcing him to get back home into a forced truce with Mugabe.

Contrary to what many now think, Joshua Nkomo was much more brutal, in the eyes of the Western World, than Mugabe, and so hence there was no grand condemnation of Gukurahundi killings even up to now. In Western Capitals, they thought Nkomo was the mischief-maker and so he must suffer the quencequences. Nkomo was the face of Cold War Russia in the Southern African conflict and this proved to be his worst enemy.

So, overall, our two giants in the liberation struggle, Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, lacked foresight of their actions and we will be paying for their mistakes for years to come. The MDC or any other opposition party are only victims of dodgy liberation politics.

Mr K Matshazi joins debate!

From Mr Kuthula Matshazi [kuthulamatshazi@yahoo.co.uk]

MDC had tried to be a national movement but, you realise that the ideological disconnect always gets in the way. Therefore the concept of a national movement (which I suppose is comprised of different groups with different agendas) is bound to be idealistic. All things being equal ( sharing a common agenda, etc) that would be great, but at the same time it sounds like another party state. I do not think that the one party state as a principle is bad. It could work if better managed...not that we need it now. If we are ever to have a one party state we need to have efficient checks and balances. This is only idealistic as well. It cannot work. If liberal democratic arangements are strained and flawed, I shudder to think what would be the case with a one party state or a national movement.

ENG SIMBA MANGWENGWENDE'S VIEW!

From Eng Simba Mangwengwende (mangwe@ecoweb.co.zw):


In a country in which the effective political system is a one party system any opposition party is a waste of time and money. Smith's Rhodesian Front was a one party system, followed by Muzorewa's UANC in 1979 followed by ZanuPF in 1987. We have an all or nothing culture that needs to be changed. In our vernacular we do not even have a word for "opposition" that means the same as the English. To us "opposition" is translated "muvengi" or "mhandu" (that is "enemy"). This explains the hostile attitude that our security organisations have towards the opposition. We inherited this unfortunate political culture from the colonial period when whites were hostile to any political actitivity by blacks. As long as we are led by the generation of leaders that grew up in this political culture we will have a problem with establishing a democratic culture in Zimbabwe. Therefore whether we have one or two MDC's or none at all is not relevant to the cause of democracy in Zimbabwe. What is required is a national movement to establish a multiparty system similar to what they had in Zambia, Malawi, etc.

Is the "white" world celebrating our woes???

Please urgently go to the website below.
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_tatchell/2006/10/anc_betrays_black_zimbabwe.html

The debate there is very open and the frightening thought in one of the contributions is:

The "white" world loves to see Africa in troubles of one sort or another. So they have no will-power to help solve Zimbabwe's problems. Their mentality is: Look at those blacks...blah blah. So you, my friend....do you see that too? Please check that out. MSH.

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http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_tatchell/2006/10/anc_betrays_black_zimbabwe.html [Photo] The voice of a nation Polite lobbying of the South African government for action against Robert Mugabe has had no effect; now it is time to get more vocal. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ President Mugabe of Zimbabwe has murdered more black Africans than even the South African apartheid regime. In just one region of Zimbabwe, in just one decade - in Matabeleland in the 1980s - he was responsible for the massacre of 20,000 civilians. This is the equivalent of a Sharpeville massacre every day for more than nine months. There was a global campaign against apartheid. I was part of it for more than 20 years. Why isn't there a similar global campaign against Mugabe's murderous tyranny? Ooops, silly me. The killer is the wrong colour. He's a black murderer, not a white one. Besides, it is racist and neo-imperialist for anyone in the west to criticise the leader of a developing country, even a bloody butcher like Mugabe. Well, that seems to be the perspective of some (not all) of my colleagues on the left. It also appears to be the view of the South African government, judging from the pitiful performance of the South African foreign minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, in London on Wednesday night. Speaking at the London School of Economics, she failed to address the two biggest crises facing southern Africa - the HIV pandemic and the chaos and brutality in Zimbabwe. I was there and heard Dr Zuma speak about the importance of international solidarity. She rightly praised the late ANC leader Oliver Tambo, stating that he was an "ardent internationalist" and a person who believed in "true solidarity". This was stomach-churning stuff coming from a foreign minister who, together with the South African president, Thabo Mbeki, does nothing while Zimbabwe burns. It was also too much for the Free Zim Youth (FZY) activists in the audience. "We were sickened to hear Dr Zuma talk about international solidarity when her government is refusing to show solidarity with the persecuted people of Zimbabwe," said Alois Mbawara, one of the organisers of FZY. He led the disruption of Dr Zuma's lecture, in protest at her government's failure to do anything meaningful to pressure Mugabe to hold free and fair elections, and to halt his regime's policies of detention without trial, rape, torture and murder. During the 1970s and 80s, I remember well the ANC's call for international solidarity against apartheid. The world responded and the ANC has since said that global support helped the victory over white minority rule. Despite having benefited from an international solidarity campaign to win black freedom, the ANC is now refusing to show solidarity with the freedom struggle of the people of Zimbabwe. The ANC had a Freedom Charter for South Africa. Don't Zimbabweans deserve a freedom charter too - and shouldn't the ANC be helping them win it? I hate to criticise my friends in the ANC but the truth is that President Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy" has failed. Mugabe's abuses have increased, not diminished, with millions at risk of starvation because they are being denied food. Why? They don't get food because they live in regions of the country that voted for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. I call it political cleansing. The ANC once led a heroic liberation struggle. Now it seems to be turning its back on the ideals of liberation and internationalism. Some of its leaders have become complacent and corrupt, suddenly accruing fabulous wealth. The government in Pretoria spends vast sums on armaments, while claiming there is not enough money to combat HIV, fund land reform and treat Zimbabwean refugees humanely. With these concerns in mind, I joined the protest; jumping up onto the stage behind Dr Zuma and holding up a placard reading: "Mbeki's shame. ANC betrays black Zimbabwe." It wasn't long before I was fingered by PC Plod: "Mr Tatchell, it's time to leave," he said. Next thing I knew I was put in a restraining grip, my wrist forced back and my fingers crushed to pinch the nerves. I was powerless to resist. That was the end of my protest. Soon afterwards, more black Zimbabweans erupted from the audience. After a few minutes, we all were either ejected or left of our own free will. We had made our point. Dr Zuma was able to complete her miserable lecture. Although Dr Zuma was greeted by warm applause when she arrived, by the time she finished her speech she had alienated much of the audience. They were riled by her arrogant, heartless refusal to express even a few words of concern for the Zimbabwean people. Particularly reprehensible was Dr Zuma's parting shot: that Zimbabweans in Britain had no right to speak out about the situation in their homeland. This is a bit rich coming from Dr Zuma, who spent much of the apartheid era in exile in the UK. While we continued our protest outside the LSE, Dr Zuma was humiliatingly smuggled out of a side exit to a waiting unmarked car. She scuttled away like the shamed foreign minister she is. Polite lobbying of the South African government has got us nowhere. The ANC ignores all cries for help from Zimbabwe. That's why we had to stage this protest. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, MPs and civic leaders have been brutalised while peacefully demonstrating for fair wages, against rocketing prices and mass evictions, and for basic human rights.

We have seen South Africa blocking calls for the UN to investigate Mugabe's abuses. It has endorsed Zimbabwe's flawed elections, even though they were conducted in an atmosphere of violent intimidation by Mugabe's henchmen. "We salute Cosatu and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Unlike the ANC, they have spoken out against human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. They stand in solidarity with ordinary Zimbabweans. Mbeki, Zuma and the ANC see nothing, hear nothing and do nothing," said FZY protester, Wellington Chibanguza. "The Zimbabwean people supported South Africans in the fight against apartheid. Now it is time for South Africa to support Zimbabweans in the fight against Mugabe's dictatorship," he said. Mugabe has killed tens of thousands of Zimbaweans, but he cannot kill a nation and its yearning to be free. The old rally cry of the ANC is more relevant than ever to Zimbabwe: "Amandla! Awethu!" - Power! To the people! @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

The posting in question>>> please read very carefully!

Comment No. 275332 October 30 22:55

"The Zimbabwean situation or rather crisis should be of uttermost
impotance to the African continent and the black race universally. The
Zimbabwean issue is more than what meets the general eye; it is a water
shed, a defining moment in the making of African history and that of
the black race. It will be in the history not of Zimbabwe alone but of
the world. The Mugabe regime's wanton destruction of Zimbabwean will
have a negative impact not only on the Zimbabwean future alone but that
of Africa and the black race. This is what fellow African leaders, black empowerment movements and
the generality of the African and black population worldwide fail to
see. It is also possible that our "full-of-I-know" President and his
Z.A.N.U (Permanent Force) party do not know the tragedy to which they
are exposing Africa and the black race. Whether one likes it or not the
question of race is one which the world can not run away from, I am not
trying to be a racist here but just trying to face facts as they are. Mugabe seems to think that he is at war with Tony Blair who I will bet
does not lose a little bit of sleep over Zimbabwe. He froths and shouts
at Blair at the least of the given opportunities he get. Now that Blair who came into power a decade later than Mugabe is
leaving office next year I wonder who Mugabe will pick on as his next
target of his imaginary war or as an object to use as one of his
diversionary tactics. Blair of all things in the world can never care
so much about Zimbabwe and neither will George Bush of the U.S.A. This is what the black race worldwide should know including people
like U.S.A Secretary of State Condolence Rice who I think needs to be
constantly reminded that she is black .The issue is I don't believe
that that the likes of Bush and Blair want to see Mugabe out of power
at all but rather want and have to a greater extent helped him to stay
in power. Mugabe's continuous stay in power and his destruction of Zimbabwe
serves well the interests of the west. The west has always portrayed
Africa as a failure and the black race as incapable of doing anything
positive on its own. Zimbabwe thus under the mentally deluded Mugabe to
the likes of Bush and Blair is a good example to the whole world that
blacks can not do anything without the white man. The west would rather have Zimbabwe grind to a halt if it has not
already come to that. They would rather have Zimbabwe come to it knees
so that it will serve as an example to the world how a black person is
a failure without the white man . Mugabe on the other hand has played the piper and thinks that actually
he is invincible whilst he is being used to degrade black people and
Africa. In his self imposed delusion Mugabe thinks he is leading the
third world fight against the west yet he is actually serving the
west's cause. The west is using Mugabe as an example to the whole world
to portray African leaders as a pack of confusion that needs guidance
from the west in order to run their countries. Soon after the constitutional referendum in 2000 it was quite clear to
the whole wide that the tide of Zimbabwean politics was about to
change. The exit sign was on the wall for Robert Mugabe and the
opposition led by Morgan Tsvangirai was set to take over Zimbabwe.
Events however did not turn out that way thanks to the interference of
the west led by Britain and America in Zimbabwean internal issues. The
west knew that the M.D.C was going to take over Zimbabwe and interfered
in order to make sure that this would not happen. It's not a secret that if there was anyone who advocated for land
redistribution then it was Morgan Tsvangirai whilst Mugabe then was
turning a deaf ear plus a button wielding hand to anyone who dared talk
about land reform to which the people Svosve will testify. It meant therefore to the western world that the coming into power of a
government with a comprehensive land redistribution plan the M.D.C it
would mean the success of the land reform in Zimbabwe which indeed
would serve as an example to fellow African countries that in indeed
land reform could be carried out successfully. This, the likes of Tony
Blair wanted to avoid and they did so in a diplomatic way which the
ordinary could not see. They could not let such an example be set for
the world. It's no secret that the openness with which the west especially Britain
and America got involved in the Zimbabwean issues played straight in to
the hands of Robert Mugabe and to a greater extent made people
suspicious of the M.D.C. as a foreign dominated party. This did cost
the M.D.C many votes especially amongst the rural folk and former
freedom fighters who would not in accept anything associated let alone
backed by the former colonial master Britain. The point here is not that they were not supposed to get involved,
after all!"

Please kindly comment!!!

Mr T Chenyika joins debate!

My view is The Split have had a very disabling effect on the MDC's capability to dethrone Zanu PF in the 2008 votes 'if the Vote take place'. In my view the Unity will be for the better in two ways !

1. it will naturally strengthen the MDC for future elections 'by future i mean beyond 2008'. Unity now is too late for purposes of threatening Zanu PF's hold on power. I know people are yeaning for Change but that should not take away realism. MDC have spent time fighting each other and if they all turn their guns towards Zanu PF now it will take a couple of years for any meaningfull results to be realised.
2. The only realsitic thing which can come from MDC Unification is the effect it will have outside the the MDC circles. By this i mean that if the Unity take place before the Zanu PF Congress or if there is likeliness of Unity before then this can result in Progressive forces within Zanu PF forcing total transformation of the Party in view of the 'MDC Threat coming thruogh Unity'. The change in Zanu PF may be good for Demoracy as this will mark the beginning of a changed political landscape conducive to democracy. The transformed Zanu PF may want to do things differently from the current hardliners who call the shorts. Any change in the ruling party will be important in country's fight for democracy. In my view it will be naive to think that events within the MDC are the only ones to shape the democratic future of the Country. The Ruling party remain very relevant and very bullish in its approach. MDC Perhaps should form an intelligence wing which will work closely with progressive forces with Zanu PF

Those are my thoughts
Regards.
TC

	Re: DON'T UNITE THE TWO MDC's!
I agree with the writer's idealistic viewpoints but I doubt very much the ability of MDC-2 (led by "student leader" Arthur) to garner sufficient support to pose a threat even to MDC-1 (Tsvangson's). In any case, the notion of a 3rd party coming into play fundamentally assumes that its portion of the votes will emanate from existing Zanu supporters. That would be the only way of unseating the Zanu PF Gov whilst maintaining political pluralism. If that cannot be achieved, then the old cliche of "united we stand, divided we fall" will be recalled.

Don't unite the two MDC's!

MDC Unification Should Not Be Encouraged


By Joe Mugabe see www.talkzimbabwe.com

Mr Editor I would like to air my views regarding the split of the MDC and so called tribalism in Zimbabwe. I do not believe that it had anything to do with tribalism.

Tribalism may have been used as a trump card by the likes of Nelson Chamisa who were cornered at some point and good enough Welshmen Ncube was so mature to refuse to be dragged to those kind of politics.

The split of the MDC has in a big way improved democracy in our nation. It is common knowledge that Zanu PF is as good as a dead party waiting to be buried with Mugabe and really what we should be focusing on now is a strong opposition to counter either a Mutambara government or a Tsvangirayi government.

What we don't want to have is a Zambian scenario where UNIP lost elections and it was gone and MMD comes in as one party in parliament thereby defeating the whole purpose of democracy.

MDC split at the right time before we even got to national elections in 2008 so that it gives both parties adequate time to set up district, provincial and national structures to give Zanu PF a run for their political life.

For those advocating the unification of MDC, you are making a terrible mistake. We should ensure that there is no unification. People now have a choice of either supporting a democratic Mutambara MDC or Tsvangirayi MDC whose ideology is not clear or not different from Zanu PF in terms of violence and a Presidency that manipulates votes and lies about its outcome.

It is on record that Tsvangirayi lied to the world about the outcome of the National Executive Council secret ballot in the same way Mugabe has lied to the world about fairness of election results in Zimbabwe.

Prof Mutambara has made a lot strides in stamping out tribalism in his own party and even mad as he is Robert Mugabe has done much better than Tsvangirayi in terms of maintaining tribal harmony. So the issue of tribalism is not a factor at all in our politics though the Tsvangirayi MDC is fighting hard to bring it back by the back door. We need to make sure they don't win on that.

Zimbabweans now have a choice of either to continue backing a party that has ruined the economy for 26 years or backing a party (MDC Tsvangirayi) that advocates boycotting or not boycotting elections thus confusing the electorate, or new kid on the block MDC Mutambara. For democracy to work we need to do better than the USA where there are only two major political parties. Taking into account our history and African problems it would be ideal to have at least three major political parties.

Mutambara MDC taking its fair share of constituencies in its strongholds in Matabeleland, Midlands and Manicaland, with Zanu PF taking its share in Mashonaland, Midlands and Masvingo, Tsvangirayi MDC in Harare and scattered in other parts of the country.

These are my views and I differ with some of your writers who say that tribalism is a factor in our Zimbabwean politics today. I will fight against moves to unite MDC. Uniting the two MDCs will defeat democracy. We have seen it before when PF Zapu and Zanu PF united. It destroyed democracy in Zimbabwe and pushed our political development back by many years.

We need to educate our people that there is life of opposition politics beyond Zanu PF government. We do not want to replace one party Zanu PF government by another MDC one party government.

Tribalism is not a factor at all. Even issues to do with "Gukuraundi" are debated in an open and transparent way by all political parties including those involved in the artrocities. Even the 'National Vision' document mentions it.

We unreservedly condemn the 'Gukurahundi' atrocities. It was, in all its manifestations, ethnic cleansing and Nazism of our own time. This should be a lesson to all Zimbabweans and should not happen again.

Our future parliament should continue to have many political parties and uniting the two MDCs would defeat democracy. Tribalism does not pay. This is the reason why even Mugabe himself saw reason to join hands with Dr Joshua Nkomo for the betterment of his party and life in politics.

Important message from Zim Journalists!

Hello Zim Journalists, And Fellow Zimbabweans

For all the latest news on what happening in the Zimbabwean Media log on http://zimjournalist1.blogspot.com or YAHOO ZimJournalists Arise

 

Please note our new e-mail address is zimjournalistsarise@yahoo.com

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Messages to the Political Leadership on the way forward!

 

I have been assured that the Cdes M Tsvangirai and Cde A Mutambara view this website www.zimfinalpush.blogspot.com .

 

From now on lets write what we individually advise them to do esp now that there are rumours of talks to unify the Opposition Movements.

 

The contributions below have come from tchenyika@yahoo.co.uk .

 

Please  post your views (even now) by sending your contribution to remshove.zimfinalpush@blogger.com 

 

It will update on the website without any editing from anyone.......not even me!

 

Vana veZimbabwe......please what are your views??

 

Rev M S Hove....The Radical Soldier!

 

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Both from tchenyika@yahoo.co.uk 

 

 I see that we have people vane paralsysis of analysis. As people of Zim we have to move on and stop day dreaming we have to work with progressive forces within Zanu PF and move the country a step further opposition has let us down.

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T he opposition party is at its weakest .  A  transformation and reinvogoration of Zanu PF is the immediate realisitic thing to save the country. I f we are to wait for opposition to regroup and pose a serious challenge vanhu vanenge vapera.

 The complaints about a tilted political playing field does not feed the people, this is the field as opposition we have to fight within and we have to adapt and overcome the challenges not just cry.

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What's the way forward in Zim crisis?

All who visit this website are invited to make suggestions on how we can solve the Zim crisis?

 

Please post by sending from your own e-mail address to revmshove.zimfinalpush@blogger.com

 

Also go to the Archives and see Articles like: "Is Robert Mugabe the Master-Assassin?" etc.

 

Your name will not appear if you don't write it yourself!

 

PLEASE LETS DEBATE NOW!

 

Rev M S Hove...Cell: 0791463039.

 

P/S...If you have an interesting article from elsewhere on Zim...please copy and send to this Blogspot.

The HUMAN PARADIGM

The  HUMAN  PARADIGM

 

Consider:
The missing element in every human 'solution' is an accurate  definition of the creature. 

The  way we define 'human' determines our view of self,others, relationships, institutions, life, and future. Many problems in human experience are the result of false  and inaccurate definitions of humankind premised in man-made religions and humanistic philosophies.

The vision of faith in God and His Word is survival equipment for today and

the future. Only the Creator,who made us in His own image, is qualified to

define us accurately.
 

Human is earth's Choicemaker. Psalm 25:12 He is by nature and nature's

God a creature of Choice - and of Criteria. Psalm 119:30,173 His unique

and definitive characteristic is, and of Right ought to be, the natural founda-

tion of his environments, institutions, and respectful relations to his fellow

man. Thus, he is oriented to a Freedom whose roots are in the Order of the 
universe.

 

Let us proclaim it. Behold!

The Season of Generation-Choicemaker Psalm 25:12 Joel 3:14 kjv

See: ""What is man...?" God asks - and answers: Earth's CHOICEMAKER

  http://www.choicemaker.net/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE DEBATE ABOUT MR P W BOTHA'S RACIST SPEECH!

 

From Peter Moyo:

Let me put the record straight, Ghandi hated black people – had little respect for us and when he used to complain about rights of Indians, he would say the SA govt wanted his people (Indians) to be equated by the primitive Kaffirs or black people. Ghandi is the least person you can include in this hero worship verse. He had nothing in common with black people – he was just an Indian trying to protect his own little turf given by the apartheid govt.

 

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Mangwe's comments: 

This man was not sick but courageous enough to state what most of his kind believed but without the guts to state so publicly and so clearly. Do not forget that the freedoms that black people now enjoy were not given on a plate by anyone but those brave black  freedom fighters like the Gandhis, Kings, Mandelas, Nkomos, Chitepos and the Mugabes of our world. My own position is that PW Botha was an honest man who helped his fellow whites to recognise their hypocrisy and thereby helped to initiate the chages that South Africa enjoys today. However if the blacks there do not recognise that most of their white compatriots operate under the same belief systems as PW botha they will continue to be the underdogs in their own country. Only 3% of the valu of the Jo'burg stock exchange is in black hands because the white community shres the beiliefs of PW Botha. It is up to our Black leaders to demonstrate that blacks do have what it takes by changing this situation in the intelligent manner that our non-white brothers in Asia have done. 

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Subject: FW: Botha's Speech 1985 (A MUST READ!!)

Botha's Speech -1985

THE FOLLOWING is a speech made by former South African President P.W. Botha to his Cabinet. This reprint was written by David G. Mailu for the Sunday Times, a South African newspaper, dated August 18, 1985.

"Pretoria has been made by the White mind for the White man. We are not obliged even the least to try to prove to anybody and to the Blacks that we are superior people. We have demonstrated that to the Blacks in a thousand and one ways. The Republic of South Africa that we know of today has not been created by wishful thinking. We have created it at the expense of intelligence, sweat and blood. Were they Afrikaners who tried to eliminate the Australian Aborigines? Are they Afrikaners who discriminate against Blacks and call them Nigge*rs in the States? Were they Afrikaners who started the slave trade? Where is the Black man appreciated? England discriminates against its Black and their "Sus" law is out to discipline the Blacks. Canada, France, Russia, and Japan all play their discrimination too.

Why in the hell then is so much noise made about us? Why are they biased against us? I am simply trying to prove to you all that there is nothing unusual we are doing that the so called civilized worlds are not doing. We are simply an honest people who have come out aloud with a clear philosophy of how we want to live our own White life.

We do not pretend like other Whites that we like Blacks. The fact that, Blacks look like human beings and act like human beings do not necessarily make them sensible human beings. Hedgehogs are not porcupines and lizards are not crocodiles simply because they look alike. If God wanted us to be equal to the Blacks, he would have created> us all of a uniform colour and intellect. But he created us differently: Whites, Blacks, Yellow, Rulers and the ruled. Intellectually, we are superior to the Blacks; that has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt over the years. I believe that the Afrikaner is an honest, God fearing person, who has demonstrated practically the right way of being. Nevertheless, it is comforting to know that behind the scenes, Europe, America, Canada, Australia-and all others are behind us in spite of what they say. For diplomatic relations, we all know what language should be used and where. To prove my point, Comrades, does anyone of you know a White country without an investment or interest in South Africa? Who buys our gold? Who buys our diamonds? Who trades with us? Who is helping us develop other nuclear weapon? The very truth is that we are their people and they are our people. It's a big secret. The strength of our economy is backed by America, Britain, Germany. It is our strong conviction, therefore, that the Black is the raw material for the White man. So Brothers and Sisters, let us join hands together to fight against this Black devil. I appeal to all Afrikaners to come out with any creative means of fighting this war. Surely God cannot forsake his own people whom we are. By now every one of us has seen it practically that the Blacks cannot rule themselves.

Give them guns and they will kill each other. They are good in nothing else but making noise, dancing, marrying many wives and indulging in sex. Let us all accept that the Black man is the symbol of poverty, mental inferiority, laziness and emotional incompetence.

Isn't it plausible? therefore that the White man is created to rule the Black man? Come to think of what would happen one day if you woke up and on the throne sat a Kaff*ir! Can you imagine what would happen to our women?

Does anyone of you believe that the Blacks can rule this country?

Hence, we have good reasons to let them all-the Mandelas-rot in prison, and I think we should be commended for having kept them alive in spite of what we have at hand with which to finish them off. I wish to announce a number of new strategies that should be put to use to destroy this Black bug. We should now make use of the chemical weapon. Priority number one, we should not by all means allow any more increases of the Black population lest we be choked very soon. I have exciting news that our scientists have come with an efficient stuff. I am sending out more researchers to the field to identify as many venues as possible where the chemical weapons could be employed to combat any further population increases. The hospital is a very strategic opening, for example and should be fully utilized. The food supply channel should be used. We have eveloped excellent slow killing poisons and fertility destroyers. Our only fear is in case such stuff came in! ! to their hands as they are bound to start using it against us if you care to think of the many Blacks working for us in our

However, we are doing the best we can to make sure that the stuff remains strictly in our hands. Secondly, most Blacks are vulnerable to money inducements. I have set aside a special fund to exploit this venue. The old trick of divide and rule is still very valid today. Our experts should work day and night to set the Black man against his fellowman. His inferior sense of morals can be exploited beautifully. And here is a creature that lacks foresight. There is a need for us to combat him in long term projections that he cannot suspect. The average Black does not plan his life beyond a

year: that stance, for example,should be exploited. My special department is already working round the clock to come out with a long-term operation blueprint. I am also sending a special request to all Afrikaner mothers to double their birth rate. It may be necessary too to set up a population boom industry by putting up centres where we employ and support fully White young men and women to produce children for the nation. We are also investigating the merit of uterus rentals as a possible means of speeding up the growth of our population through surrogate mothers.

For the time being, we should also engage a higher gear to make sure that Black men are separated from their women and fines imposed upon married wives who bear illegitimate children.

I have a committee working on finding better methods of inciting Blacks against each other and encouraging murders among themselves. Murder cases among Blacks should bear very little punishment in order to encourage them.

My scientists have come up with a drug that could be smuggled into their brews to effect slow poisoning results and fertility destruction. Working through drinks and manufacturing of soft drinks geared to the Blacks, could promote the channels of reducing their population. Ours is not a war that we can use the atomic bomb to destroy the Blacks, so we must use our intelligence to effect this. The person-to-person encounter can be very effective.

As the records show that the Black man is dying to go to bed with the White woman, here is our unique opportunity. Our Sex Mercenary Squad should go out and camouflage with Apartheid Fighters while doing their operations quietly administering slow killing poison and fertility destroyers to those Blacks they thus befriend.

We are modifying the Sex Mercenary Squad by introducing White men who should go for the militant Black woman and any other vulnerable Black woman.

We have received a new supply of prostitutes from Europe and America who are desperate and too keen to take up the appointments.

My latest appeal is that the maternity hospital operations should be intensified. We are not paying those people to help bring Black babies to this world but to eliminate them on the very delivery moment. If this department worked very efficiently, a great deal could be achieved.

My Government has set aside a special fund for erecting more covert hospitals and clinics to promote this programme. Money can do anything for you. So while we have it, we should make the best use of it. In the meantime my beloved White citizens, do not take to heart what the world says, and don't be ashamed of being called racists. I do not mind being called the architect and King of Apartheid. I shall not become a monkey simply because someone has called me a monkey. I will still remain your bright star...His Excellency Botha. "

Please post short and clear messages!

Please post articles that are short and to the point!

If you have long stuff, please give the website address and the theme only so others can post too.

Thank you!

Rev M S Hove.