Howzit
Foreign currency mid-rates updated...
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WARNING: Brace yourself. There is a rather graphic photograph in this posting.... I have seen worse, but this is brutal.
See this photograph here:http://www.africancrisis.co.za/Article.php?ID=26079& -o00o-
And so it begins. As I sat down in front of my machine having showered and dressed, and just as I was about to start some music to listen to whilst I work on this posting, the BBC announced that the ZEC has just announced the first recount 'result'. And, as expected. it was a seat that had been won by the MDC but now has been given to ZANU PF.
I expect more of the same...
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Whilst I applaud the somewhat delayed reaction by the world at large on the Chinese ship sailing about with 77 tons of armaments on board, I grow increasingly concerned that Mugabe is going to use the alternate means of flying a new shipment in to Harare.
What provisions have the free world got to stop an aircraft landing in Harare? From my understanding, the new shipment of arms will require at least two plane loads.
"A shipment of ammunition, rockets, and mortar bombs en route from China to Zimbabwe has been denied passage from the South African port of Durban to the shipment's landlocked destination.
On Friday, South Africa’s High Court barred the transport of weapons aboard the An Yue Jiang, arguing that the shipment would be used by Zimbabwe's president of 28 years, Robert Mugabe, against members of the opposition party. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, temporarily in self-imposed exiled, declared himself the victor of the March 29th elections. Since then, journalists and activists alike have reported that hundreds of opposition supporters have been detained, beaten, or tortured.
Although the An Yue Jiang is expected to return to China, a South African paper, News24, reports that a second arms shipment from China is scheduled to arrive by air in order to "expedite the delivery and to circumvent the controversy around last week's shipment by sea." The story also claims that both orders, placed by the Zimbabwean government, were finalized just days after Zimbabwe's elections.
The arms shipments brings to light the hazards of China's growing role in the world's poorest and most unstable continent. According to Serge Michel in the current issue of FP, in the last seven years, "trade between China and Africa jumped from $10 billion to $70 billion."
I have numerous queries regarding the intended shipment - but more immediately, yesterday I had the misfortune of watching Patrick Chinamasa, of Mugabe's illegally re-appointed cabinet, spewing hatred and vindictive on my television screen.
Ja - so much so, that I had to wipe it down afterwards!
With hatred flowing out of every pore, Chinamasa spat out that the Mugabe 'government' had the 'sovereign right' to protect itself... Not if that 'government' is illegitimate, it doesn't.
First off, the BBC should be careful in what position they give Chinamasa. They had him labelled as "Minister of Justice" - which he is not. He is not even a member of Parliament. We must be careful not to legitimise Mugabe's 'government' by acknowledging the titles he gives them...
Secondly, 'defend' themselves against what or who? When a regime orders weapons of this nature and there is no perceived enemy then it is apparent that they are going to war against their own people.
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"The weapons on board the Chinese ship which fled Durban harbour last week were clearly meant to "butcher" innocent Zimbabweans, the country's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said today.
"Those weapons were not going to be used on mosquitoes, but (were) clearly meant to butcher innocent civilians whose only crime is rejecting dictatorship and voting for change, and change they can trust," the MDC said in a statement ahead of talks with the Congress of SA Trade Unions (COSATU).
In those discussions, it would convey its "appreciation" of the refusal by the COSATU-affiliated SA Transport Workers' Union to be party to the movement of the weapons to landlocked Zimbabwe, it said."
Morally, the union have scored a huge victory against the bullish impetus of Mugabe's illegal government. Sadly though, on the ground, the beatings and torture continue.
And with the shipment being blocked, the Mugabe regime now has to rethink its options and will step up their campaign of violence against the people.
"The MDC's secretary general Tendai Biti is to meet with COSATU general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi in SA today. Biti would brief Vavi on the crisis in Zimbabwe as part of the MDC's "diplomatic offensive, informed by the need for African solutions for African problems".
Biti would also convey appreciation for the solidarity COSATU and South African workers had shown the Zimbabwean people as they struggled to free themselves "from the painful hand of the vampire dictatorship".
"The hour of change has come. We are confident of victory. However long it may take, we have a date with Zimbabwe's prosperity and we will not be late, neither will we miss it," the MDC said. The MDC won the majority of seats in Zimbabwe's parliamentary election, but the results of its presidential election have yet to be announced with recounts underway in several areas."
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I received a very graphic picture of one of the victims of Mugabe's campaign of violence against the people.
"This man (pictured below) from the Mudzi area, Mashonaland East was brutally beaten on the buttocks by ZANU PF Militia for being an MDC supporter. This occurred on 14/4/08 - he was taken to the local government hospital who dressed it and gave him Panadol (that was all they had). Ambulances were sent to the area to uplift the 6 injured people, but were turned back by CIO operatives. The ambulance crew were told that if they valued their lives they must go. The CIO vehicle followed them for over 100 kms to Harare.
This picture will give you an idea of how severe the beating was, and what happens when medical treatment is denied by the ZANU PF and CIO thugs. This man is safe in a private hospital in the capital Harare and is just beginning his long road to recovery."
This is an example of what I am talking about. How can we call the few select people that Mugabe has 'appointed' the 'Zimbabwean government'? These are not people elected by the voting public. These are people selected by the illegally parked President.
I was asked yesterday in an email, why I refer to Mugabe as 'illegally parked'. Simple - his meter has expired and he is now in office on borrowed (taken, more like it) time.
"Zimbabwe’s government on Tuesday rejected calls for United Nations (UN) intervention saying the country was not in crisis despite rising political violence amid an election stalemate that analysts say could lead to more conflict and bloodshed.
Deputy information minister Bright Matonga said Harare would invite the world body if it felt the situation had deteriorated beyond its control.
"They can only intervene when there is a crisis," he said. "There is not crisis at the moment we do not see why they should be invited. We will invite them when there is a real crisis not now."
Bright Matonga is not. Bright. And for proof of that, all that is required is to listen to any of the numerous interviews he has given during the election process. The man will not listen - he rudely talks over all and sundry - and he comes out with some of the most audacious statements.
I listened to one interview - for a few minutes only, as I couldn't be asked to listen to the whole thing - where Matonga tried to use the fact that he is in a mixed marriage to defend the land grab! When he went to evict the farmer from the land, he took along his white, English-born wife, who proceeded to shout and scream at the farmer that he had stolen 'their' land...
What more proof do I need that we are dealing with a ha'pworth?
"Meanwhile, Matonga also denied charges that weapons bought from China could be used to crackdown on government opponents.
"Every sovereign country is allowed to import weapons from any legitimate source unless if they are bought from an unofficial supplier," said Matonga. "We don’t use weapons to kill like what the British and the Americans are doing in Iraq."
No. The British and American troops in Iraq are fighting insurgents bent on violence, death and mayhem. You intend to use the weapons against your own people. Correct - it isn't like Iraq at all...
"A ship ferrying the weapons from China was forced to flee South Africa’s Durban port after a High Court judge directed that the ship be offloaded but refused to allow the weapons to be transported across South Africa to Zimbabwe."
Whilst I understand what he says, I do question the timing of the shipment - and the fact that the people need food, water, electricity, fuel, jobs and money. Surely these have a higher priority than weapons of war?
If the illegal Mugabe government had ordered 77 tons of food as opposed to weaponry, he would not be a vilified as he is today.
And people cannot eat weapons...
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Originally, the ZEC counted and announced the results of 210 constituencies in four days. Now they have just 23 constituencies to recount. And if you look at the numbers, there are really not that many ballot papers by way of numbers.
Why then, four days after the start of the illegal 'recount' are they still delaying? Is this another of those - keep doing it until the right candidate wins?
Perhaps the ZEC need to rebrand itself as the ZANU PF electoral commission, as between them and ZANU PF, no one else is allowed anywhere near the recounts - being conducted in an unknown location, away from prying eyes.
"Zimbabwe’s electoral commission on Monday said it was not sure whether it would be able to announce results for the country’s presidential election immediately after an ongoing partial vote recount is completed.
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) deputy chief elections officer Utoile Silaigwana said the commission would need to reassess the situation at the end of the recounting exercise - itself expected to last several more days than the three originally planned.
"We have to see when this (recounting) exercise is going to be finished. At the moment I cannot tell," said Silaigwana, in what appeared confirmation that Zimbabwe’s election stalemate could still run for several more days.
Political analysts have warned that the election stalemate if left unresolved for too long could lead to violence and bloodshed while the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party said on Sunday that ruling ZANU PF militants had stepped up violence against its supporters."
Just how hard is it to recount the ballot papers?
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The BBC has been regularly publishing the ongoing story in Zimbabwe by a lady within the country - and it does make very compelling reading..
"It has been a long weekend in Harare.
Friday was 'Independence Day'. I watched clips of the broadcast from Gwanzura stadium, where official celebrations were held.
The whole time I was wondering: "Who is R G Mugabe?"
Cabinet was dissolved just before elections, so who is he? I mean what office does he hold?
My father went to our rural home in the east of Zimbabwe on Friday, and came back on Sunday with the news that the GMB (Grain Marketing Board) there shut down on the Wednesday after elections.
People were told that in future they should purchase grain from the opposition, since they voted for an opposition MP.
So even the purchase of grain is politicised."
Everywhere you turn in Zimbabwe, there is, at the very least, traces of ZANU PF's duplicity. People walk to work because their take home salary is not enough to cover transport. Only about 20% of the country's workforce are gainfully employed.
Children are not at school as families cannot afford the huge school fees. Sick and ill people remain at home without medication as families cannot afford the transport to the hospital, let alone the treatment costs.
And everyone is desperately short of food.
"My mother on the other hand went to an Anglican church gathering to celebrate the role of mothers, I think its called Mother Mary's day.
She says there were thousands of women, from all over Zimbabwe.
The event started at 0900, and as they were having lunch at around 1300, a couple of police officers told them to disperse as they were not supposed to be there, which the women refused to do.
The policemen then left but came back a short time later with a truckload of more police officers - this time in full riot gear.
They repeated their order to disperse, and this time of course they did.
At least none of them was beaten, but my mother was in tears as she told us the story."
This is the extent of Mugabe's rule - he will not allow the people the freedom to express themselves - even if that expression has got nothing to do with politics.
His police have be instructed to be suspicious of anyone, and regularly hand out beatings for the most innane reasons.
"On Saturday, we got bread from a supermarket for the first time in two or three weeks without having to queue for it.
We just walked in and simply picked it off a shelf. Wow!
It must have something to do with the new price - a jump from 25m Zimbabwean dollars to 65m."
Imagine paying ZW$65000000 for a loaf of bread! It may not convert to very much, but let's remember that the vast majority of people in Zimbabwe do not have six million for bread.
"So life goes on in Zimbabwe.
We are slowly resigning ourselves to more of RG's rule.
It does not look as if he is going anywhere.
I keep imagining that we are drowning and people on the shore can see we are in distress.
But there is someone with us, and this is the person they ask, "Is everything ok?" The person replies, "Yes, yes, no need to worry, I'll have you out in a minute."
So the onlookers go on with what they were doing, only to read about how we were found washed up on the shore, dead, the next day."
I couldn't have expressed it better myself...
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I was a little saddened at this article which I found via GoogleAlerts... Headlined "Tsvangirai will Soon Be Dead In the Eyes Of Zimbabweans," it quoted the views of but a handful of Zimbabweans blog.
"Bev Clark on
http://kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/"The international community is not going to come charging in to help no matter how much Morgan shuttles around. We might get a few more travel bans and names on sanctions lists... Zimbabweans are intelligent people. They saw how useless the UN was in Rwanda - how will little old Zimbabwe rate in their list of priorities? Zimbabweans are suffering a devastating lack of leadership from Morgan "Asylum" Tsvangirai. He should be here, on the front lines inspiring hope and being among his supporters. He's worried that he'll become a "dead hero" - well pretty soon he will be dead in the eyes of Zimbabweans because so many of us are entirely unimpressed with his sorry arse."
Natasha Msonza on
http://kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/"There is a hell of a lot Mbeki or our neighbours can do. For instance, we applaud the move by... the South African naval intelligence for resisting and blocking the entry of the arms reportedly en route to Zimbabwe aboard a Chinese ship. Another thing Mbeki, South Africa or the rest of Southern Africa Development Community can do is make it difficult for these big chiefs to enter their countries. Hit them with another wave of sanctions; 'local' ones this time around. [And] if Annan could broker a deal that saw a semblance of peace descend on Kenya, then surely, talks conducted in the right way can achieve positive results?"
It is a sad day when a newspaper makes a blanket statement in their headline like this - based upon the opinions of just a few writers. I have been running this page for over three years - and if you were to gloss through some of the archives, you will see that I have never commented unfairly on the MDC or Morgan Tsvangirai - unless it is a glaring problem.
If I state my opinion, I wouldn't be too amused if it was then headlined by a reputable newspaper as mass opinion.
Very disappointed.
I would happily discuss this and the current Zimbabwean crisis with any editor from The Independent...
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"A divorce wrangle between President Robert Mugabe's playboy nephew, Leo Mugabe, and his wife of nearly two decades, Veronica, has opened a can of worms and is revealing the extent to which Mugabe's cronies feathered their nests as Zimbabwe descended into impoverishment.
Divorce papers lodged at the Harare High Court show that Leo, a member of parliament and the eldest child of Mugabe's ailing sister, Sabina, owns at least three large farms in Mhangura, Makonde and Banket.
Leo has previously firmly denied that he owns more than one farm. Veronica wants 100 percent ownership of one of the farms and at least 50 percent ownership of another, or equivalent compensation. The third farm would remain in Leo's possession.
All the farms were forcibly seized from their white owners. Veronica also wants the livestock, machinery and furniture of all three farms: Nangadza, in Mhangura; Journey's End, in Makonde; and the farm in Banket."
Of course Mugabe will deny the ownership of the farms, as that ownership flies in the face of the 'one man - one farm' policy that Robert Mugabe decreed. Not only that, but why should he (or she) own the farms in question? What about the 'landless blacks' that the land grab was supposed to empower (their word - not mine)?
"The court case also proves that Leo is a very wealthy man by virtue of his shareholding in several blue chip companies, including mobile telecommunications provider Telecel Zimbabwe; engineering giants Stewarts & Lloyds and Integrated Engineering Group; steel dealer Baldwins Steel; and investment firm Themiso Holdings.
Veronica wants 50 percent of Leo's holdings in all these companies. Leo has yet to respond to the papers. He is accused in the court papers of several extra-marital affairs and of fathering children out of wedlock. Veronica says her marital relationship with Mugabe's prominent nephew has broken down irretrievably and that she has been denied "love, respect, affection, companionship and friendship, as is expected between husband and wife"."
What ZANU PF call 'black empowerment' is easily translated to 'self enrichment' within the hallowed halls of power.
Or should that be 'sallowed'?
"Leo was a longtime chairperson of the Zimbabwe Football Association before being booted out for misusing a soccer development grant from world soccer body Fifa. He and his younger brother, Patrick Zhuwao, are both MPs and their rise in politics is seen as a plan by Mugabe to entrench his dynasty in power.
Their vast wealth has remained a mystery because they are not known as successful entrepreneurs."
I agree. They are not so much entrepreneurs as thieves...
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"COSATU's General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has described the current Zimbabwean government as illegitimate.
Vavi, who met MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti this morning, says it's unacceptable that the partial recounting of the parliamentary votes also includes the unannounced presidential results.
Biti, who is drumming up support in South Africa, also met SACP General Secretary Blade Nzimande today. Biti is expected to hold a similar meeting tomorrow with ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe."
Not that calling Mugabe illegal is going to do very much but ensure that he commands his forces to crack down even more heavily on the MDC, but it is always worth the try.
"Meanwhile, a Harare magistrate has dismissed the bail application of 28 people arrested last week following a MDC initiated mass stay-away. Their case is to be heard next month."
I am not going to talk about the trumped up charges nor the treatment that these people will receive whilst in custody, but instead I thought I would study the photograph the accompanied an earlier story in the same subject.
See Photograph here: http://www.africancrisis.co.za/Article.php?ID=26079&Just look at the size of the security agent! In a country where most people do not have the money nor the reserves to eat much more than one meal a day, it is very apparent that this man is on the government payroll.
He hasn't gone without very many meals, has he?
And all the MDC suspects that he is escourting are all thin...
Catch my drift?
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Take care.
'debvhu
Source URL:
http://thebeardedman.blogspot.com/2008/04/wednesday-23rd-april-2008.html
Topic: Zimbabwe Update by Robb WJ Ellis (23-04-2008) (Read 915 times)