Zim lifts ban on food aid

From the Age (Australia)

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Zimbabwe's government has finally yielded to major pressure and announced it is lifting a three-month ban on the distribution of food aid in the hunger-stricken country as power-sharing talks resumed in South Africa.

A bulletin quoted a statement from the welfare ministry as saying the government had "with immediate effect lifted the suspension of operations of private voluntary organisations and non-governmental organisations".

These included those involved in "humanitarian food assistance, relief, recovery and development, childcare and protection and the rights of people with disabilities".

Zim police disrupt meeting

from SWRadioafrica

... Early this week several MDC MPs were arrested, and on Thursday heavily armed riot police disrupted a meeting of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition at a hotel in Harare.

The Coalition’s information officer Tabani Moyo told Newsreel the police claimed the meeting held at Cresta Lodge was illegal. Moyo said this was an Annual General Meeting, an internal gathering of the civic group that did not need police clearance. Some invited members of the diplomatic community were present at the AGM, which had gathered to elect a new board when the riot police stormed the venue...

Meanwhile Elinor Sisulu, a spokesperson of the group said in a statement: “They are being very rough, and unreasonable. They are threatening us with arrest and saying that our gathering is illegal.”

She added that the attack on civil society violated the terms of the MoU, which clearly states there should be an environment that allows social welfare organisations to operate without intimidation.

Nothing will stop Mugabe from forming a new government

from Zim on line

A senior Zimbabwe official said on Thursday that nothing would stop President Robert Mugabe from appointing a new government while on the same day police broke up an NGO meeting, as Mugabe adopts an increasingly belligerent stance in the face of stalled power-sharing talks with the opposition....

Mugabe had delayed appointing Cabinet or convening Parliament to give chance to power-sharing talks. But the 84-year old leader convened Parliament this week and was quoted by state media as having said he would go ahead and appoint a new Cabinet without the MDC which he said was unwilling to join.

Matonga told the media: "Nothing is going to stop us from forming a new government. We need to move forward, we need to make sure that Zimbabwe regains its status, we need to work on the economy. People are suffering."

The deputy information minister, who dismissed the MDC as “not serious at all”, claimed Mugabe was given permission by Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders to form a government after Tsvangirai refused to sign a power-sharing deal that was endorsed by the bloc’s leaders at a summit in South Africa....

MP's arrested

from Radio Netherlands

In Zimbabwe, there have been further arrests of MPs belonging to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. A total of five MPs have now been arrested, one yesterday and the rest today....

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more from SWRadioAfrica:

Police raid MDC hotel as harassment and arrests continue

By Lance Guma
26 August 2008

A total of 3 MDC MP’s were arrested Tuesday at parliament bringing to 5 the number arrested over trumped up ‘public violence charges’ since Monday. Broadwin Nyaude (Bindura South), Mathias Mlambo (Chipinge East) and Pearson Mungofa (Highfield East) were all arrested on the day MDC MP’s heckled Robert Mugabe during his speech at the official opening of parliament. Previously on Monday Shuwa Mudiwa the MP for Mutare West and Eliah Jembere from Epworth were arrested before they were sworn into parliament. The MDC accused ZANU PF of trying to reduce their numbers in parliament before a crucial vote to elect the speaker of parliament. Lovemore Moyo from the Tsvangirai MDC still managed to win the election, in spite of the arrests.

...

Armed police raided Harare’s Quality International Hotel around 4 am Tuesday claiming they were looking for MDC MP’s on a wanted list for ‘public violence’ charges. The hotel had been booked by several MDC MP’s who had come to be sworn into parliament on Monday. Chipinge East legislator Mathias Mlambo was one of those targeted. He was in the room with his wife when police threatened to break down the door to his hotel room. Mlambo dared police to go ahead and break it down, but the police withdrew. They arrested him later in the day. Police claim Mlambo beat up a war veteran in Chipinge during the March election campaign, a charge highly unlikely given the state sponsored violence that rocked the area.

A report on the Zimbabwe Times website says police demanded the guest register from the hotel at gunpoint. ‘Terrified reception staff handed over the list and the officers frisked the entire hotel staff.’

Mugabe taunted in Parliament

from the BBC

.....But what must have staggered Mr Mugabe was that the MDC MPs remained seated....

Half way through his speech, in which he praised South African President Thabo Mbeki for facilitating dialogue with the MDC and attacked rampant inflation, murmurs of discontent began to surface.

These jeers grew louder, leaving Zanu-PF MPs stunned.

"You killed people, we know that," a yell came from the MDC backbench.

'You are murderers'

In a crowd of more 200 legislators, it was hard to pinpoint the culprit.

"Yes, you are murderers," another echoed, in Shona.

Mr Mugabe then touched on the subject of sanctions.

"Surely sanctions cannot be good for any Zimbabwean and we have abundant evidence of their ravaging impact. We cannot condone such blatant spiteful injury," he said.

But the MDC struck again.

MDC supporters were in combative form throughout the proceedings

"Zanu-PF is rotting," the legislators chanted for a good three minutes....

"We are together in the struggle, no amount of beatings and killings will deter us," they sang.

At some point Mr Mugabe raised his head, face shaken, and then proceeded with his speech.....

Man Made famine looming in Zimbabwe

from BloggerNews:

.....But apparantly, the mere threat of violence was not enough to ensure the correct vote: Mugabe also banned the distribution of food aid by NGO’s in early June.

This was a twofold threat: One, it meant that after a poor harvest, villagers would know that if they didn’t vote correctly, no food aid would be coming to keep them alive, and two: It meant that there were fewer outsiders to report on atrocities.

The dirty little secret about missionaries and NGO’s is that they write about what they see. Mugabe is trying to intimidate his population, and keep it a secret. That is why he bans outside reporters from entering the country, and why letters and emails are assumed by locals to be monitored.

So since June, NGO’s have been banned from giving out food aid. After the farce election, and the South African mediated talks to try to get a coalition government, Mugabe agreed to stop the suspension of the NGO’s. This did not happen, although in early August a small amount of food was allowed to be distributed to HIV patients. But if things don’t change, Zimbabwe, which once exported food and with irrigation and modern tecniques could be the breadbasket of Africa, will become a state with massive starvation. From the report by the Crisis in Zimbabwe coalition:

“The suspension of humanitarian operations is estimated to have put the lives of more than 1.5 million marginalised Zimbabweans at risk already,” said the report. “Without the immediate resumption of food aid across the country, widespread hunger and worsening malnutrition are unavoidable.”
It noted that the two main international food agencies, the World Food Programme and the Food and Agricultural Organisation, estimate that 2.04 million Zimbabweans in rural and urban areas do not have enough food now. By January, the organisations say that 5.1 million will be at risk of starvation – about 45% of the population.
“The government has always maintained a stranglehold on food distribution with a view to ensuring that those receiving the food associate this generosity with the government, rather than the donors,” the report noted.

.....

Millions starve as food aid begins to rot

from SWRadioAfrica:

The Memorandum of Understanding signed between ZANU PF and the MDC last month called for the lifting of all restrictions on the work of aid groups. A subsequent joint statement condemning violence also called for all humanitarian assistance to be allowed into the country and for aid to reach thousands of victims of political violence.

But despite the statements and agreements, aid agencies have remained barred from operating in Zimbabwe, leaving millions of Zimbabweans, with no other resources, to face the reality of starvation..... At the same time, the Zimbabwe Crop and Food Security Assessment report says the number of people in need could rise to five million by January because of the poor crop projections. Meanwhile in comparatively wealthy areas such Harare, food is becoming increasingly scarce, and because of a severe currency shortage, people cannot buy basic food to survive.

MP's detained as Zim parliament starts

from AFP:

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) — The opposition Movement for Democratic Change won a vote for the speaker of the Zimbabwe parliament on Monday, hours after two of its lawmakers were detained by police.

The two members of parliament were detained in the parliament building just before the secret ballot for speaker, which was won by Lovemore Moyo of main MDC leader's Morgan Tsvangirai's camp who got 110 votes of 208 cast.

The MDC had said the detention of its members of parliament was a manoeuvre to influence the vote for a speaker in what was the first meeting of parliament since March elections.

....

"Relations between Mutambara and Mugabe have been good lately...It's not inconceivable that the two agreed to work together in an attempt to retain control of parliament," said Caromba.

While the MDC control of parliament was unlikely to exert much influence on government policy, the ruling party had been "clearly desperate" in resorting to arrests, Caromba added.

"The fact that the MDC won despite these tactics is certainly an important psychological victory for them and a big blow for Mugabe."

How does the Legislature work in Zim?

From Reuters:

Here are some details about Zimbabwe's parliament.

A BICAMERAL CHAMBER:

* Zimbabwe's parliament is bicameral, consisting of a Senate or upper house, and a House of Assembly, or lower house.

* Senate - There are 93 seats, 60 elected by popular vote for a five-year term, 10 provincial governors nominated by the president, 16 traditional chiefs elected by the council of chiefs, two held by the president and deputy president of the council of chiefs, and five appointed by the president. * House of Assembly - the lower house is made up of 210 members, increased from 150 last March.

* Lovemore Moyo was elected on Monday as Speaker of the lower house, a senior position in Zimbabwe's political hierarchy. He succeeded John Nkomo. The speaker will be a powerful figure in Zimbabwe's new hung parliament. He is likely to take charge of controversial debates if there is no power-sharing deal. The speaker can also act as president in the absence of the vice president or Senate president.

* The Cabinet is appointed by the president and responsible to the House of Assembly.

PARTY SEATS:

* Neither of the two major parties holds a parliamentary majority -- opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC holds 100 seats in the lower house, against the ruling ZANU-PF's 99.

* The breakaway MDC has 10 seats and there is one Independent seat. Whoever the breakaway MDC sides with gets an effective majority in the legislative chamber.

* The Senate results after the 2008 elections showed contested seats split 30-30 between the combined opposition and the ruling party. Control of the Senate will depend on the president, with powers to directly appoint 15 members and strongly influence who gets other positions.

MDC man the new speaker

from the Times:

MOVEMENT For Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai reasserted his popularity in Zimbabwe yesterday when his party won a fiercely contested vote to determine the Speaker of parliament — only hours after two MPs were detained by the police....

Lovemore Moyo, the MDC’s national chair , was elected Speaker of Zimbabwe’s seventh parliament after a secret ballot in which 208 MPs voted.

Moyo secured 110 votes, while his adversary, Paul Themba Nyathi of the breakaway MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara, could only garner 98. President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF chose not to field a candidate, supporting Nyathi instead.

But yesterday Mutambara became irrelevant when MPs voted with their conscience and not along party lines.

Mugabe rival fear talk collapse

from the BBC...

So far, Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change and Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party have failed to reach a deal to resolve Zimbabwe's post-election crisis.

Leaders from the Southern African Development Community failed to help them end a deadlock at their summit in Johannesburg over the weekend.

'Theory and practice'

"If President Mugabe proceeds to convene parliament, appoint a new cabinet, it means that... he may have abandoned the basis for the talks," Mr Tsvangirai said in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.


It managed to allay some of our fears, but strengthened some of our positions
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai

Kenyan lessons for Zimbabwe crisis

He said that talks mediator South African President Thabo Mbeki would have to deal with any violation of the negotiations' Memorandum of Understanding. ...

A dangerous clash in Zim talks

from Time Magazine

Power-sharing talks in Zimbabwe are on the verge of a complete breakdown, according to sources inside the negotiations, with President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai unable to agree on who should wield greater power in a unity government. Underlining how the mood between the two sides has soured, one general in Zimbabwe's army reiterated a threat to defend Mugabe's regime "even if it means going to war," adding that Tsvangirai would be arrested if talks fail. And that would not appear to be an idle threat: the opposition leader, who won more votes than Mugabe during the first presidential ballot on March 29 (he withdrew from the subsequent runoff in the face of a campaign of violence against his supporters), was briefly detained by Zimbabwean security forces last week......

What is the power of a signiture?

from the Herald...

The govt run propaganda machine is in a snit because Tsvangirai won't sign a paper letting Mugabe win and the opposition will get nothing...

Zimbabwe's art of stone

from the CSMonitor

...

Although communication with Zimbabwe is difficult, it's clear that some of the nation's 1,800 to 3,000 sculptors have scattered to other countries, says Ponter, a northern California art dealer who grew up in Zimbabwe.

...

Shona art is unusual in a number of ways. For one, it's all crafted out of stone and almost entirely formed without the use of power tools, Ponter says. Instead, the stone carvers rely on hand tools and sandpaper. They create the smooth, colorful, and glossy surfaces of the sculptures by heating the stone's surface and then applying a substance such as beeswax.

The use of stone itself is unique in Africa, although it has a history in Zimbabwe. Ancient peoples in the Zimbabwe region of Africa worked with stone as early as the 13th and 14th centuries, creating the magnificent stone structures of the Great Zimbabwe complex that gave the country its name.

Finally, Shona art serves no special purpose, unlike much of African art – such as masks – which is used in spiritual ceremonies. The Shona artists "carve for the sheer joy of it," says Ponter's wife, Laura. The Shona sculptures are often abstract and stylized; they are so contemporary that they're frequently displayed in modern-art museums.

...

Power sharing deal held up by Mugabe

from SWRadioAfrica

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said ‘a few issues’ are still holding back the signing of a power-sharing deal with ZANU-PF, according to sources in his party.
The major sticking points are Mugabe’s insistence on retaining control of government, while only allowing Tsvangirai to preside over some ministries.
Tsvangirai told the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security that they also differ with Mugabe on the duration of any power-sharing government, its framework and constitution.

According to documents seen by Newsreel, the MDC’s position on a new government of national unity envisages a short transition period of up to 30 months, ending with an election under a new democratic constitution.

It’s believed Zanu-PF want such an arrangement to last five years. The MDC in their position paper said they have compromised and proposed a five year period, subject to either party reserving it’s right to terminate the transitional agreement after the new constitutional making process, by giving three months notice.

The MDC envisage that a constitutional process would be completed within 18 months and that the effect of a ‘termination’ would trigger a harmonised election. All parties have agreed to a new constitution and they signed and initialled an agreement to this, in Kariba in September last year...

Zim exiles on warpath against Mugabe

FROM NAMIBIA

THE Zimbabwe Exiles Forum (ZEF) has lodged an urgent application with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal in Windhoek to declare President Robert Mugabe's government illegal and force regional leaders to stop inviting him to their meetings.

Norman Tjombe of the Legal Assistance Centre confirmed that the papers were served on several individuals as well as the tribunal's head office in Windhoek and that they were awaiting a date for the hearing. "We have made a host of demands including that the elections be declared unconstitutional," Tjombe said. Mugabe attended a weekend SADC summit in South Africa despite the application and a boycott of the meeting by Botswana President Seretse Khama Ian Khama. Khama refused to attend the summit because his government does not recognise Mugabe's re-election.

Mbeki press Tsvangirai to accept fake compromise

from the AFP: Shades of the Nkomo fraud are now proposed by Mbeki


South African President Thabo "Mbeki turns up the heat on Tsvangirai", said The Times in a headline, adding: "Zim opposition given ultimatum: sign deal or let parliament decide."

Leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) held a weekend summit in Johannesburg and called for the convening of the parliament after the March 29 poll, in which Mugabe's ZANU-PF party suffered a historic defeat.

"The threat by SADC leaders to take the matter to parliament could therefore be seen as a way of exerting pressure on Tsvangirai to sign," The Times said.

"The move could also boost Mugabe", said the Business Day newspaper which noted that the "parliament had not been sworn in largely because the presidency was being disputed."

Mugabe's ZANU-PF and a smaller faction of the MDC led by Arthur Mutambara would have a parliamentary majority if they combined forces. Mutambara last week concluded an informal understanding with the regime.

The Star voiced fears that convening parliament could "scupper the dialogue" between Tsvangirai and Mugabe following the veteran president's controversial re-election in June in a run-off boycotted by the opposition leader.

A South African official close to the power-sharing negotiations has said difficult issues included whether Mugabe would retain the right to hire and fire ministers and how long a transitional government would remain in place.

The opposition MDC wants a clause stating that if one of the parties pulls out of the unity government, elections would be held within 90 days, according to the official.
The Star said convening parliament would mean that "Mugabe would immediately have to appoint a new cabinet. Doing this before negotiations are completed would entail Tsvangirai being excluded from a new government."...

Zim opposition insists on real power

from the NYTimes

"....Mr. Mugabe, whose re-election in a June runoff after 28 years in power was widely seen as a sham, took his place this morning on a dais crowded with other heads of state, but he did not receive his usual adulatory welcome. Dignitaries from across the region were silent, even somber, as the presidents strode into the hall.

Mr. Mbeki told the assembled leaders that he is trying to engineer a final agreement this weekend. And the pressure on him to deliver a deal is evident. Just outside the convention hall where the Southern African Development Community had gathered, there was a raucous anti-Mugabe demonstration of trade unionists allied with Mr. Mbeki’s own governing party.

But Mr. Tsvangirai, seen by some African leaders and Western diplomats as having the only legitimate claim on the presidency after besting Mr. Mugabe in a credible March election, said the most basic issue of how he and Mr. Mugabe would share power remains unsettled.

George Charamba, Mr. Mugabe’s press secretary, said in an interview Thursday that in any power-sharing government Mr. Mugabe would remain as head of the government and in charge of the cabinet — conditions Mr. Tsvangirai said were untenable.

Mr. Tsvangirai said it was acceptable to him if Mr. Mugabe retained the title of president with a role in overseeing the government. And Mr. Tsvangirai is willing to split the cabinet posts between his and the governing party. But all the cabinet ministers would need to report to him, he said. Only a coherent governing structure would enable Zimbabwe to attract the aid from international donors that is essential to rebuilding Zimbabwe’s shattered economy, he said.

“Who is in charge of the cabinet?” Mr. Tsvangirai asked. “To whom do all these ministers report? Can you dismiss them if they breach? It’s fundamental.”....

A Scandal in Africa

The NYReview of Books

.... Mugabe and the cabal that supports him have seemed to enjoy flaunting their contempt for democracy and their easy embrace of violence.

That cabal is led by hard-line members of the Zimbabwean military and a handful of cabinet officials who served alongside Mugabe in the independence war of the 1970s. They include the commander in chief of Zimbabwe's armed forces, General Constantine Chiwenga, and Emerson Mnangagwa, an heir apparent to Mugabe who, as minister of national security in 1983, allegedly oversaw the massacre of thousands of political opponents in Matabeleland. "He is a man with the capacity to be more vicious than Mugabe," I was told by University of Zimbabwe political analyst John Makumbe.

Mnangagwa was one of the principal orchestrators of the campaign of violence and intimidation against the opposition launched in April—known as CIBD, or Coercion, Intimidation, Beating, and Displacement. (According to recent reports, over a hundred opposition supporters have been killed and more than 200,000 displaced.) And Mugabe, after initially conceding defeat in private and considering resignation or negotiation, quickly embraced the hard-liners' position. "We are not going to give up our country because of a mere X," Mugabe declared in the midst of his bloody campaign last month, rejecting any pretense of a legitimate election. "How can a ballpoint pen fight with a gun?"...

go to link for full article..

Mugabe aims for staying in power with rumor of breakaway talks

from the UKGuardian

.....Senior ruling Zanu-PF party officials said on Tuesday that Mutambara had reached agreement with Mugabe on the shape of a new administration. South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, who was mediating the negotiations, confirmed that the two men did agree the division of powers in the next government, to be led by Mugabe.

But Mutambara, who heads a splinter group from Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, said that did not mean he is prepared to serve in a new administration while there is still no deal between the two principal players. The talks broke up after Tsvangirai refused to drop his demand that Mugabe relinquish power and become a ceremonial president.,,,

Tsvangirai's aides treated with suspicion Mutambara's claim not to have done a deal with Mugabe, noting that the opposition faction leader had shifted his position considerably in recent days and was praised by Zimbabwe's president in a speech earlier this week.....