Why Mugabe can't retire

Chinja Maitriroblog has an essay by Tanonoka Joseph Whande
summarizing why Mugabe dare not retire.

he summarizes Mugabe's crimes, but notes why no one will encourage him to retire:

Mbeki is having it both ways.



Why should he hurry to solve the Zimbabwean crisis? Even without outside help, the Zimbabwean situation is reaching ‘saturation point’ and will inevitably straighten itself out.



But the vultures are circling. Many big companies in Zimbabwe closed down and relocated to South Africa and other countries in the region. Supermarkets are closing down because there are no suppliers.



There is no food in the country. There is no fuel or spares. Zimbabwe does not even have money; it uses paper money and has no coins. There are no chemicals for water reticulation.



Hospital beds, like supermarket shelves, are empty because there are no medicines in the hospitals. Patients are asked to bring their own food which they can no longer find in the empty shops.



And South African business is watching, don’t you see? Mugabe is going to go, one way or the other. He is about to expire, both physically and politically, and South African business is best poised to rush in and set up shop.



They have the money; they have the means and they are nearest. So Mbeki is not losing sleep over Zimbabwe. Either way it goes, he and his country come out winners.



We hear so much about the SADC initiative, spearheaded by Mbeki. Hogwash. SADC, with its united inadequacy, is too cowardly and unwilling to solve problems that directly affect it.

South Africa seeks removal of Zim sanctions (again)

from SWRadioAfrica

The South African government will next week lobby for the removal of targeted sanctions against Robert Mugabe and his ZANU PF officials, during the 65th session of the United Nations in New York.

Refugees from Xenophobia

from SWRadioAfrica:

The Civil Protection Unit has put up temporary shelters in Beitbridge for hundreds of Zimbabweans fleeing xenophobic threats on foreigners in South Africa.

Madzudzo Pawadyira, the director of the CPU, said they had erected three big tents and made available 10,000 blankets, 20 boxes of laundry soap and 1,000 buckets. He said the same measures have also been put in place in Plumtree to cater for those returning through the Plumtree border with Botswana....

Many foreigners living in South Africa’s poorest neighbourhoods have in recent weeks received threats in the wake of the World Cup; two years after a wave of anti-immigrant violence left 62 dead across the country.

Exiled Zimbabwean Everisto Kamera recently told SW Radio Africa that xenophobic sentiments are less common in South Africa’s wealthy suburbs, but are often serious in the poor shantytowns that surround major cities like Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.

Terrorist bombing in Uganda: connection with Zim?

A few weeks ago, some suspected terrorists were caught by Zim police trying to go across to Beitbridge.

Now, other stories are being reported.

One, two terrorist bombings in Uganda, killing over 60 folks watching the world cup matches

This might have been local politics, since some of the African Union peacekeepers in Somalia come from Uganda, and there were plans to increase their numbers.

Two: a sting where guys selling a prototype for a 'dirty bomb" were arrested.

Was there a terrorist plot to set off a dirty bomb at the World Cup matches? or was it just a scam to sell a fake bomb to rich terrorists to make a couple million Rand?

South Africa's World cup

Strategy Page notes:

June 1, 2010: With nearly 400,000 football (soccer) fans headed for South Africa, to see the World Cup games live, some are concerned about the high murder rate there (about 38 per 100,000 people a year). Half those killings are with edged weapons (knives, axes, swords, machetes). In response to this perceived need, a British firm is advertising $70 "stab-proof vest". The "Protektorvest" is available with football themes printed on it. South Africa was not happy with this, and pointed out that the murder rate for tourists was much lower than the one for the population as a while, and that it was highly likely that no tourists at all would be killed during the games.

But South Africa, and African in general, is a dangerous place. So is Latin America and parts of Asia....

The rest of the article is about crime/murder in various areas on the world....and it does note that South Africa, unlike many other states, keeps statistics, so it's rate may only "appear" to be high...

The Splintering Rainbow

From AlJezeerah
About South Africa.

Part One:

Violence in SA against Zimbabweans flares

from the NYTimes:

POLOKWANE, South Africa — Men in Westenburg Township went hunting Zimbabweans. They prowled its dirt roads by the truckload as night fell recently, brandishing clubs and throwing stones....

In May 2008, South Africa’s image as a home to people of all races and nationalities took a hard knock as xenophobic violence leapt from city to city, victimizing poor Africans who had sought asylum and opportunity in the region’s richest country...

Last week, South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, pleaded with his people to “embrace especially our African brothers and sisters, who usually bear the brunt of ill-treatment more than foreigners from other continents.” Navi Pillay, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights and a South African, this month called attacks on foreigners in her homeland “gravely alarming.”

The police here in the capital of Limpopo Province gathered up Zimbabweans that terrifying night two weeks ago and took them to the old Peter Mokaba stadium for safekeeping....

Regional summit set for Thursday

the AP reports that there will be a regional summit on Thursday, of the Southern African Development Community. including South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia,

Zuma in power share plea

from the BBC:

South African President Jacob Zuma has asked Zimbabwe's political parties to remove any obstacles to implementing their political agreement.

He was speaking at a two-day meeting of Sadc, the southern African regional organisation, in DR Congo....

Our correspondent says the MDC is concerned about the pace of political reform, alleged human rights abuses and appointments of key positions in the legal system and central bank.

She also says Mr Mugabe wants Sadc to campaign for the lifting of economic sanctions against Zimbabwe....

President Zuma

GetReligion Blog has an article about newly elected President Zuma:

"South African President Jacob Zuma knows how to work a political rally, as shown by the video atop this post — in which Zuma sings “Awuleth’ Umshini Wami” (“Bring Me My Machine Gun”). The Weekly Standard sounded a warning about Zuma earlier this month, and retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu has raised concerns about him for years.

"Now Douglas Foster, writing in the June issue of The Atlantic, touches briefly on religious aspects of Zuma’s appeal. Foster, who teaches at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and is preparing a book on South Africa, returns a few times to an image of a poor woman who sees hope in Zuma...

(there is then links to the article about Zuma's electric personality and links to the Rhema Bible church, which preaches prosperity gospel...the idea that if you love God and follow the rules that God will reward you with riches and honors...this idea by the way is popular here in the Philippines).

The blog then goes on to write:

"I found this article in the Times of Johannesburg about Rhema Bible Church welcoming a visit from Zuma. Foster is on to something, but it would be helpful to see whether Rhema — part of an international movement that emphasizes the prosperity gospel — is a fluke or a harbinger.

Zim as SA 10th province?

From a reader's letter to the Times (SA)



South Africa should annex Zimbabwe and make it our 10th province.

Like any poorly managed business with good fundamentals — the best way forward would be to merge with a stronger company with financial resources.

South Africa has a democratic government. We have a fairly stable economy — probably among the best in Africa. South Africa could use its expertise and manage Zimbabwe using our currency and our form of democratic leadership.

This would also boost our economy owing to additional natural resources and skilled labour, increased tourism income as well as increased tax revenue.

Zimbabweans would be able to work for a decent salary and provide much-needed food for their families. It is a win- win situation for South Africans and Zimbabweans alike.

Tutu, Carter welcome power sharing agreement

From the IHT:

Former President Jimmy Carter, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other world leaders have welcomed Zimbabwe's unity government deal....

In a statement Saturday, the members of The Elders founded by former President Nelson Mandela said they hoped the deal would ease the country's humanitarian crisis.

Carter urged the international community to "give this agreement the best chances of success."

this is bad news, because Jimmy Carter hasn't met a murderous dictator that he hasn't liked and trusted...and of course a lot of people think Carter's backing of Mugabe over Muzarewa, who after all had won the election, spelled doom for any real democracy or democratic opposition in Zimbabwe..

Opposition Party gives in

from the NYTimes

JOHANNESBURG — After months of resisting intense pressure from leaders across southern Africa, Zimbabwe’s opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, announced Friday that he would do as they have insisted and join a coalition government as prime minister with his nemesis, President Robert Mugabe.

For "leaders" read South Africa....Why are the "leaders" pressuring Tsvangirai to give in to a dictator? Why don't they pressure Mugabe instead? Answer: They are all revolutionaries...and if Mugabe can be voted out, so can they...

Mr. Tsvangirai now faces the daunting job of sharing control of the nation’s police, reviving Zimbabwe’s moribund economy and rescuing an increasingly famished, sick and impoverished population with a partner, Mr. Mugabe, whose security forces have viciously beaten him and thousands of his supporters over the past two years. Even as the power-sharing talks were taking place, Mr. Mugabe’s government abducted and allegedly tortured dozens more opposition supporters in just the last few months.

Mr. Tsvangirai first agreed to form a joint government in September, but then refused after Mr. Mugabe claimed all the ministries that control the repressive state security forces, including the police. But at the insistence of the Southern African Development Community, the 15-nation regional bloc overseeing the negotiations, the current deal shares oversight of the police with Mr. Mugabe — a compromise Mr. Tsvangirai had initially rejected....

Only Botswana's president has the nerve to say "the Emperor has no clothes":

“These power-sharing agreements are not the way to go on the continent,” said Mr. Khama, whose government is the only one in the region now openly criticizing Mr. Mugabe’s party for using intimidation, violence and murder against its opponents. “You can’t have a situation where a ruling party, when it senses it may lose an election, can then manipulate the outcome so they can stay on in power.”

But the real culprit is South Africa, who pushed the deal despite Zuma's pretending he backed Tsvangirai:

Others, like Brian Raftopoulos, research director for Solidarity Peace Trust, a non-governmental organization, contend that joining the government was the opposition’s best option, in part because its long term survival as a party depends on decent relations with regional powers such as South Africa.

Operation shut them up

I sometimes write on Blogger NewsNet, and posted a couple essays on Zimbabwe in the last few days:

Operation shut them up
...according to the Zimbabwe Times, the chief of the “law and order” section of the police department, with help from the military and the Central Intelligence Organization, is behind the kidnapping and intimidation of political activists and journalists. The operation even has a name: Operation Chimumumu (Shona for a dumb person, i.e. one who is unable to speak).

Jestina Mukoko, an ex newslady who runs the Zimbabwe Peace Commission, was kidnapped on December 4th when a dozen armed men appeared at her residence.Her only “crime” was to document human rights abuses during the elections.

Since then, many voices have been petitioning the government for her release, along with others who have been similarly kidnapped.

Just before Christmas, JudgeYunus Omarjee ordered the police to release Mukoro and 32 other activists and take her and 8 others whose lawyers alleged that they were tortured to be taken to the local hospital for evaluation and treatment.

The government however has refused to obey the court, instead taking Mukoro and 8 others, including a two year old baby, to a maximum security prison...

The high profile arrests might be the tip of the iceberg. One wonders how many ordinary people are intimidated or threatened, without any reports of what has happened.

Zimbawean activist Reverend Hove, who now lives in South Africa, reports that his family’s home has been firebombed, luckily those inside managed to escape without injury. However, the police response to the assault was a clue that this was not an isolated incident:

They called the Police and all the Police asked was, “Is there anyone who does Opposition Politics here?” When told “Yes” they said “That could be why” and left!

Things are so bad that even Nobel Prize winner Archbishop Desmon Tutu has suggested that the international community use threats of force to oust Mugabe.

-------------------------------

Mugabe smuggling arms via the DRC

While the world is busy shipping in vital supplies including food and medicine to help the people of Zimbabwe, the UN reports that President Mugabe, who allowed the Harare area water system deteriorate because they “couldn’t afford” supplies, nevertheless managed to buy guns and other military weapons from China, smuggling them in from his friends in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is despite an embargo forbidding shipments of arms to that country.

The reason for this deception is that an earlier shipment in April was discovered and diverted after South African Trade Union workers refused to unload the shipment. It eventually was reported to have been offloaded in Angola and flown to Harare.

In this case, the arms were sent to the DRC and flown to Harare......

----------------------

Zimbabwe situation deteriorating

The good news in Zimbabwe: The rains have at last started. It’s a bit late to save the first planting, but at least in the north, December rains will allow people to do a second planting to get a crop.

The bad news? The rains will probably worsen the Cholera epidemic which has killed at least a thousand people, and probably more, since I suspect many rural people will die at home and not be included in the count.

The news keeps getting worse.

South Africa, with the aid of Russia, has blocked any attempt by the UN to alleviate the situation....

But at least Russia has an excuse: They are making mischief against the west. What is South Africa’s excuse? By blocking UN intervention, they are condemning not only Zimbabwe but much of South Africa to more refugees, bringing with them cholera…and there is an election coming up....

Tutu says South Africa's Legacy "betrayed" over Zimbabwe

AfricaNews via Monsters&Critics:


London - Archbishop Desmond Tutu said Wednesday that South Africa had 'betrayed its own legacy' by failing to remove Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe from power.

In a BBC interview broadcast Wednesday, the archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner accused South Africa of losing the moral high ground by failing to stand up to Mugabe.

'We should have been the ones who for a very long time occupied the moral high ground. I'm afraid we have betrayed our legacy.'

Tutu said he was saddened that his own country appeared not to be on the side of suffering Zimbabweans.

'I want to say first of all that I have been very deeply disappointed, saddened by the position that South Africa has taken at the United Nations Security Council in being an obstacle to the Security Council dealing with that matter.

'And I have to say that I am deeply, deeply distressed that we should be found not on the side of the ones who are suffering. I certainly am ashamed of what they've done in the United Nations.

'For the world to say 'no, we are waiting for South Africa's membership of the Security Council to lapse and then we can take action.' How much more suffering is going to make us say 'No we have given Mr Mugabe enough time?''

South Africa blocks UN motion on Zim

from SWRadioAfrica:

Despite thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing the cholera infested country to neighbouring countries and the crippling economic and human rights crisis, South Africa has done it again and blocked a motion to allow the United Nations to get a consensus on how to deal with the Zimbabwean crisis.

A closed-door session on the country by the UN Security Council on Monday ended with South Africa and Russia going against a motion to censure Robert Mugabe...

...

Alex Magaisa said a resolution would have shown an acknowledgement by the UN that there is a fundamental problem that needed to be dealt with in Zimbabwe.

Gee, d'ya think?

South Africa blocks Zim aid

from ABC (Australia)

South Africa says it will withhold desperately needed aid until Zimbabwe enacts a power-sharing agreement.

This is the first sign from South Africa that it is prepared to get tough with its neighbour.

The South African Government says it is extremely concerned about Zimbabwe's failure to implement a power sharing deal that was agreed to more than two months ago.

It has criticised Zimbabwe's political leaders for putting their interests ahead of the lives of ordinary people.

South Africa will withhold more than $30 million in agricultural assistance until a unity government is formed.

------------------

translation: They will punish the people for the tyrant's sins....

Ah, peaceful solutions....which end up killing more people than a quick coup using SAfrican soldiers...

Opposition says Mugabe can't form government alone

AP via the IntHTrib

...

Thokozani Khupe, vice president of the Movement for Democratic Change, told reporters that if Mugabe unilaterally formed a new government, the opposition would not be part of it.

The opposition would "peacefully, constitutionally and democratically mobilize and campaign against the illegitimate government," the party said in a statement.

Southern African leaders had called on Zimbabwe's politicians to form a unity government quickly and suggested that the opposition share control of the police ministry with Mugabe's party, a recommendation the opposition rejects....

However, some observers fear that Zimbabwe's leader of 28 years will not make any real concessions to the opposition as it has been nearly two months now since the power-sharing agreement was signed. Last month Mugabe claimed control of the police ministry when he unilaterally published a Cabinet list.

Neighboring Botswana also rejected the ministry sharing proposal. Botswana's Foreign Affairs Minister Phandu Skelemani, told his parliament Thursday that such an arrangement was "unrealistic, impractical and unworkable."

Botswana has been one of the few countries that have criticized African leaders for not putting enough pressure on Mugabe to share power with the opposition....

Mugabe wins out in negotiations

Thanks to SAfrica's "help" in negotiations, Mugabe wins...I mean just because he wants to keep both the police and army (and of course his "green bombers") under his control doesn't mean that they won't pressure him to stop killing the opposition...

from the BBC:

In the run-up to Sunday's summit, hosts South Africa had promised to talk tough with the Zimbabwean parties and "force" an agreement.

Many observers interpreted that as a sign that the region's most powerful country was at last going to pressure President Robert Mugabe into making concessions to the opposition.

In fact, as the dust settles on the talks it is clear that the exact opposite was the case.

Despite winning the only contested election in Zimbabwe this year, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was yet again being urged to compromise by southern Africa leaders.

Tomaz Salomao, the head of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which organised the summit, announced that an "above normal" situation meant that the home affairs ministry should be "co-managed" by two ministers, one from President Mugabe's Zanu-PF and one from Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Those... at the summit didn't have time to strategise and that's why they came up with this result Judy Smith-Hohn Institute for Security Studies

The joint share of home affairs would go alongside most of Zimbabwe's key ministries in the Zanu-PF portfolio.

Effectively SADC was instructing the MDC to accept Mr Mugabe's definition of power-sharing - that they should take a junior role in his government.

"These regional organs are state to state," David Monyae, a South African analyst, told the BBC. "The idea of opposition groups coming in and getting heard is not something they are comfortable with."...

LATimes articles on Zim, SA

Sides in Zim see Mbeki help

why not? He did such a great job in the past

Zuma still a mystery

They are afraid of him...which means either he is scary and will become a genocidal dictator like Mugabe, or maybe it's just racism...

Key Cabinet posts go to Mugabe's party

No, the posts don't "go to" his party, he stole them clear and easy, because nobody cares if he breaks the agreement, and Mbeki will stop UK intervention.

Global turmoil threaten SA attempt to make a black middle class.

No, they've had years to do so. a couple months of financial tumoil isn't the problem...the cure is education in capitalism, and to copy the Asian tiger nations. But Mbeki's and the ANC are socialist, and Zuma worrys the elite, and scared rich bigshots don't invest in countries that might just up and "nationalize" aka steal their huge investments....