from the VOA
Two Zimbabwean female personalities, rights activist Jestina Mukoko and National Healing Co-Minister Sekai Holland have been awarded the prestigious French National Order of the Legion of Honour, for what French authorities termed their outstanding virtue
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Anglicans locked out
from the UK telegraph:
The apostate bishop Nolbert Kunonga has locked the doors of the churches, so only the ZANU PF can attend...so Anglicans have to worship elsewhere.
The apostate bishop Nolbert Kunonga has locked the doors of the churches, so only the ZANU PF can attend...so Anglicans have to worship elsewhere.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Skeleton stunt backfires on Mugabe
from the Scotsman.
summary:
Mugabe sent his youthful thugs out to pull bodies from mine shafts ( a common way to dispose of folks killed by Smith's anti terror terrorists) to show the world the atrocities of the Smith regieme, but some of the bodies are too recent to blame on Smith.
The exercise is being spearheaded by a little-known organisation called the Fallen Heroes of Zimbabwe Trust, led by an official of Mugabe's Zanu-PF. The trust has launched a public appeal for funds to continue. Overlooking Mr Mugabe's murderous record - and the fact Mr Smith's Rhodesian Front faced UK sanctions - the president's loyalists say the International Criminal Court should investigate the UK on charges of "genocide".
The MDC - locked in an uneasy coalition with Zanu-PF since 2009 - is suspicious of the timing of this discovery. Owen Gagare of the local NewsDay paper said when he was taken to view the skeletons "one of the bodies still had visible hair". Others were clothed and were reportedly leaking bodily fluids.
Top MDC official Tichaona Mudzingwa says the unsupervised exhumations are "an exercise to bury evidence."
"Probably most of the bodies being exhumed are victims of the 2008 violence," he told the press in a reference to the terror campaign launched by Mr Mugabe's militias after he lost the first round of elections to Mr Tsvangirai.
summary:
Mugabe sent his youthful thugs out to pull bodies from mine shafts ( a common way to dispose of folks killed by Smith's anti terror terrorists) to show the world the atrocities of the Smith regieme, but some of the bodies are too recent to blame on Smith.
The exercise is being spearheaded by a little-known organisation called the Fallen Heroes of Zimbabwe Trust, led by an official of Mugabe's Zanu-PF. The trust has launched a public appeal for funds to continue. Overlooking Mr Mugabe's murderous record - and the fact Mr Smith's Rhodesian Front faced UK sanctions - the president's loyalists say the International Criminal Court should investigate the UK on charges of "genocide".
The MDC - locked in an uneasy coalition with Zanu-PF since 2009 - is suspicious of the timing of this discovery. Owen Gagare of the local NewsDay paper said when he was taken to view the skeletons "one of the bodies still had visible hair". Others were clothed and were reportedly leaking bodily fluids.
Top MDC official Tichaona Mudzingwa says the unsupervised exhumations are "an exercise to bury evidence."
"Probably most of the bodies being exhumed are victims of the 2008 violence," he told the press in a reference to the terror campaign launched by Mr Mugabe's militias after he lost the first round of elections to Mr Tsvangirai.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Follow the money
From the Philippine Inquirer:
NOUAKCHOTT – The African Union's panel on Libya Sunday called for an "immediate stop" to all attacks after the United States, France and Britain launched military action against Moammar Gadhafi's forces.
After a more than four-hour meeting in the Mauritanian capital, the body also asked Libyan authorities to ensure "humanitarian aid to those in need," as well as the "protection of foreigners, including African expatriates living in Libya."
Of course, there is a reason behind their backing a ruthless tyrant who kills his own people and funded terrorism: he bribed them.
The reason that China and Russia didn't veto the resolution is because the Arabs didn't want Libya turning into another Bosnia, where 100 thousand were killed while Europe and the world sat and UN peacekeepers watched.
So who Loves Ghadafffy?
The Mead list discusses a lot of "bought" Americans and Europeans.
more at Mother Jones.
BBC report on how Ghadaffy bribed Africa. when he proposed a "one Africa", he meant of course with the (white) Arabs in charge, preferably himself.
Gaddafi's main contribution to Africa since 1999, when he turned away from the Arab League and the Middle East to try to form a United States of Africa, has been to bribe and buy his way to the chairmanship of the African Union, to promote this idea of a borderless Africa, presumably led by him.
He did this in two ways. Firstly, he sought simply to buy the smaller, poorer states by bribing their presidents. Secondly, in states where he was opposed, he would fund opposition movements. So he has been extremely divisive in his relations with Africa, and his removal will quiet things down a bit.
The presidents of Nigeria and South Africa had to fight a running battle with him to stop his crazy ideas of subverting Africa, trying to make it into one, single country, just like that.
It is hard to say if he has ever genuinely been seen as a fellow African leader by other African leaders. He supported the ANC in South Africa, and Swapo in Namibia, and when Nelson Mandela came out of prison, he went to Libya almost straightaway to thank him.
But while he continues to support groups like that, he has also sided with appalling movements in western Africa which he saw as revolutionary. He has backed Charles Taylor, now on trial in The Hague, and Foday Sankoh, the dreadful rebel leader in Sierra Leone who led the Revolutionary United Front, which cut off hands and legs. So he has a very mixed record in his very idiosyncratic way....
NOUAKCHOTT – The African Union's panel on Libya Sunday called for an "immediate stop" to all attacks after the United States, France and Britain launched military action against Moammar Gadhafi's forces.
After a more than four-hour meeting in the Mauritanian capital, the body also asked Libyan authorities to ensure "humanitarian aid to those in need," as well as the "protection of foreigners, including African expatriates living in Libya."
Of course, there is a reason behind their backing a ruthless tyrant who kills his own people and funded terrorism: he bribed them.
The reason that China and Russia didn't veto the resolution is because the Arabs didn't want Libya turning into another Bosnia, where 100 thousand were killed while Europe and the world sat and UN peacekeepers watched.
So who Loves Ghadafffy?
The Mead list discusses a lot of "bought" Americans and Europeans.
more at Mother Jones.
BBC report on how Ghadaffy bribed Africa. when he proposed a "one Africa", he meant of course with the (white) Arabs in charge, preferably himself.
Gaddafi's main contribution to Africa since 1999, when he turned away from the Arab League and the Middle East to try to form a United States of Africa, has been to bribe and buy his way to the chairmanship of the African Union, to promote this idea of a borderless Africa, presumably led by him.
He did this in two ways. Firstly, he sought simply to buy the smaller, poorer states by bribing their presidents. Secondly, in states where he was opposed, he would fund opposition movements. So he has been extremely divisive in his relations with Africa, and his removal will quiet things down a bit.
The presidents of Nigeria and South Africa had to fight a running battle with him to stop his crazy ideas of subverting Africa, trying to make it into one, single country, just like that.
It is hard to say if he has ever genuinely been seen as a fellow African leader by other African leaders. He supported the ANC in South Africa, and Swapo in Namibia, and when Nelson Mandela came out of prison, he went to Libya almost straightaway to thank him.
But while he continues to support groups like that, he has also sided with appalling movements in western Africa which he saw as revolutionary. He has backed Charles Taylor, now on trial in The Hague, and Foday Sankoh, the dreadful rebel leader in Sierra Leone who led the Revolutionary United Front, which cut off hands and legs. So he has a very mixed record in his very idiosyncratic way....
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
More on Mangoma
from SWRadioAfrica:
...
...
The police charged him with abusing public office, a charge that stems from an alleged breach of tender regulations in the purchase of five million litres of diesel from a South African company. He has since been indicted for trial at the High Court on 28th March....
But High Court Judge Samuel Kudya dismissed this claim. He also said the State had no tangible facts to warrant Mangoma’s conviction, a position that suggests the state has a very weak case against the minister....
‘The Judge even alluded to the fact that when Mangoma bypassed the tender procedures, he did so in the public interest to speed up the procurement of fuel which was in short supply at that particular time,’ Muchemwa said.
High court releases Energy minister
From the VOA
Mangoma, deputy treasurer of the Movement for Democratic Change formation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, was arrested last week and charged with criminal abuse of office in relation to a fuel procurement tender.
In his ruling, High Court Judge Samuel Kudya declared that the case against Mangoma was weak, and granted his freedom on $5 000 bail.,....
Defence attorney Selby Hwacha accused the Attorney General of not taking action against some officers in the Energy Ministry who allegedly misappropriated $35 million, despite an official request by Mangoma.
His trial is expected to begin March 28. If convicted, Mangoma faces no more than 15 years in prison or a $5 000 fine.
Meanwhile, MDC Member of Parliament for Gokwe-Kabuyuni, Costin Muguti was also granted bail by a Kwekwe magistrate, but remained in custody after the State invoked the notorious Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.
More MDC staff arrested
from the Independent:
Police have raided the party headquarters of Zimbabwe's Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, and arrested a youth leader and two security guards.
(no reason given)
Police have raided the party headquarters of Zimbabwe's Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, and arrested a youth leader and two security guards.
(no reason given)
Saturday, March 12, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Tsvangirai asks for a divorce
from the UK Telegraph:
Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai called on Thursday for a "divorce" in the unity government with President Robert Mugabe, proposing elections overseen by southern African neighbours. ...
"Even those with legendary patience, like some of us, have reached a stage where we are saying enough is enough. There is obviously a breakdown in the relationship between the parties," Mr Tsvangirai said.
"If people find that a marriage has reached irreconcilable differences, then agree to a divorce."
Mr Tsvangirai spoke hours after police detained Energy Minister Elton Mangoma, a senior member of the prime minister' Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party on undisclosed charges...
Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai called on Thursday for a "divorce" in the unity government with President Robert Mugabe, proposing elections overseen by southern African neighbours. ...
"Even those with legendary patience, like some of us, have reached a stage where we are saying enough is enough. There is obviously a breakdown in the relationship between the parties," Mr Tsvangirai said.
"If people find that a marriage has reached irreconcilable differences, then agree to a divorce."
Mr Tsvangirai spoke hours after police detained Energy Minister Elton Mangoma, a senior member of the prime minister' Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party on undisclosed charges...
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Charisma and Megalomania
AustinBay has a long essay on megalomanics in politics
He makes several points.
One, if the megalomanic dictator is anti American, he will get a pass from the press (mainly in Europe but also in much of the US) for his atrocities and hijinks.
This of course applies to Mugabe, and is because of the Marxist bias in much of the press and the intelligencia, who have a soft spot in their heart for communists and those inspired by the communist propaganda of brotherhood and equality, never mind that it is a potemkin village that is based more on fantasy than reality.
He then goes on to discuss Mugabe and his ilk. How do you take over a country and keep in power?
People shape events, not vague historical forces or deterministic theories, and people who seek to successfully transition their society from a dictatorship to a democracy need reliable institutions that promote consensus, compromise and the pursuit of power by legal means.
From Hofstatter:
He makes several points.
One, if the megalomanic dictator is anti American, he will get a pass from the press (mainly in Europe but also in much of the US) for his atrocities and hijinks.
This of course applies to Mugabe, and is because of the Marxist bias in much of the press and the intelligencia, who have a soft spot in their heart for communists and those inspired by the communist propaganda of brotherhood and equality, never mind that it is a potemkin village that is based more on fantasy than reality.
He then goes on to discuss Mugabe and his ilk. How do you take over a country and keep in power?
People shape events, not vague historical forces or deterministic theories, and people who seek to successfully transition their society from a dictatorship to a democracy need reliable institutions that promote consensus, compromise and the pursuit of power by legal means.
Gadafi, Mugabe, and Chavez have systematically destroyed or attempted to destroy the institutions in their nations capable of promoting compromise. These thugs seek to turn such institutions into ideological instruments –not for an ism, but for the perpetuation of their own power.
Mugabe has yet to destroy the Catholic and Anglican churches, and they underpin the various factions of the anti-Mugabe opposition.
The Catholic Church still wields influence in Venezuela; when Chavez goes, and he will, eventually, perhaps the church will play a significant role in resurrecting that beggared nation.
Mugabe stands in stark contrast to his next door neighbor, Nelson Mandela.
Mandela –personally and institutionally– fostered consensus, compromise and the pursuit of power by legal means. (Kemal Ataturk did it in Turkey.) South Africa could fall into tribal anarchy, but it will not be because of Mandela. Mugabe’s personal jealousy of Mandela may well be a factor in his desire to cling to power no matter the long-term cost to Zimbabwe. Apres moi le deluge.
Bay quotes from two famous essays on politics, that of Jean Kirkpatrick and of Hofstatter. Both are classics and should be read to understand Mugabe and the world's interpretation of Mugabe's actions.From Hofstatter:
“As a member of the avant-garde who is capable of perceiving the conspiracy before it is fully obvious to an as yet unaroused public, the paranoid is a militant leader. He does not see social conflict as something to be mediated and compromised, in the manner of the working politician.
Since what is at stake is always a conflict between absolute good and absolute evil, what is necessary is not compromise but the will to fight things out to a finish.
Since the enemy is thought of as being totally evil and totally unappeasable, he must be totally eliminated—if not from the world, at least from the theatre of operations to which the paranoid directs his attention.
This demand for total triumph leads to the formulation of hopelessly unrealistic goals, and since these goals are not even remotely attainable, failure constantly heightens the paranoid’s sense of frustration. Even partial success leaves him with the same feeling of powerlessness with which he began, and this in turn only strengthens his awareness of the vast and terrifying quality of the enemy he opposes.”
Mugabe charges six activists with treason
from RTT News:
A court in Zimbabwe on Monday released 39 people in a 45-member group of political and civil society activists arrested last month on charges of plotting a popular uprising in lines of the ones witnessed in Tunisia and Egypt in recent weeks. The court, however, slammed treason charges on the remaining six....
A court in Zimbabwe on Monday released 39 people in a 45-member group of political and civil society activists arrested last month on charges of plotting a popular uprising in lines of the ones witnessed in Tunisia and Egypt in recent weeks. The court, however, slammed treason charges on the remaining six....
All of them were subsequently accused by prosecutors of plotting to "organize, strategize and implement the removal of the constitutional government of Zimbabwe" through a popular revolt. But the defendants had denied any wrongdoing, insisting that they were only taking part in an academic debate about African politics....
Monday, March 07, 2011
Zimbabwe to sell Uranium to Iran
from the UKTelegraph
Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Zimbabwe's foreign minister, said the sanctions – which prohibit member states from providing Iran with raw materials that it could use to make a nuclear weapon – were unfair and hypocritical.
He said that Zimbabwe, which is also the subject of sanctions over human rights abuses perpetrated by President Robert Mugabe's supporters, would benefit economically from the agreement.
A leaked intelligence report suggests Iran will be awarded with exclusive access to Zimbabwe's uranium in return for providing the country with fuel.
Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Zimbabwe's foreign minister, said the sanctions – which prohibit member states from providing Iran with raw materials that it could use to make a nuclear weapon – were unfair and hypocritical.
He said that Zimbabwe, which is also the subject of sanctions over human rights abuses perpetrated by President Robert Mugabe's supporters, would benefit economically from the agreement.
A leaked intelligence report suggests Iran will be awarded with exclusive access to Zimbabwe's uranium in return for providing the country with fuel.
Saturday, March 05, 2011
StrategyPage on Zimbabwe
Strategy page has a summary on the Zimbabwe situation. I have found their analyses insightful in the past, so you might want to go to the link and read the whole thing.
Summary: Mugabe is clamping down on his political "enemies" again, and the Jasmine revolts against dictators has scared him.
much of it is known by those of us who are following the situation, but they note rumors (unconfirmed) that some of the African mercenaries that are helping Libyan dictator were sent by Mugabe.
and they worry:
"National elections are looming, political violence is increasing in the major cities, and Robert Mugabe remains very much alive. If Qaddafi survives in Libya will he send commandos to help out Mugabe?
what might save Mugabe, of course, is the same thing Strategy Page has noted about Iran: That the best and brightest, who might start a revolution, have left the country already...
Summary: Mugabe is clamping down on his political "enemies" again, and the Jasmine revolts against dictators has scared him.
much of it is known by those of us who are following the situation, but they note rumors (unconfirmed) that some of the African mercenaries that are helping Libyan dictator were sent by Mugabe.
and they worry:
"National elections are looming, political violence is increasing in the major cities, and Robert Mugabe remains very much alive. If Qaddafi survives in Libya will he send commandos to help out Mugabe?
what might save Mugabe, of course, is the same thing Strategy Page has noted about Iran: That the best and brightest, who might start a revolution, have left the country already...
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
News update: will the Jasmine revolution hit Zimbabwe?
Sorry I've been too lazy to keep up with the Zimbabwe news, but here are links for your reading:
Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA
The Zimbabwean - 20 minutes ago
The seven members arrested remain in custody and finally managed to receive a meal at lunchtime today. All seven will spend a second night in custody.
from SWRadioAfrica:
Zimbabwe: Seeking Release of 45
New York Times - - 4 hours ago
The United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, on Tuesday called on Zimbabwean authorities to release 45 activists charged with treason. A statement from her office said they were being held for “discussing ...
from SWRadioAfrica:
| Security crackdown deters Zim protests Security crackdowns in Harare and Bulawayo deterred any mass action against the ZANU PF regime, with no sign of the protests that have been encouraged over the past two weeks. |
Jabulani Sibanda shuts down schools for ZANU PF rally |
More activists arrested as Mugabe hits panic button |
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