Dear Dr John Makumbe,

We heard you "LIVE" on Radio "702" here in South africa giving an Ultimatum to the South Africans about their expected role in the resolution of the Mugabe-made crisis in Zimbabwe!

 

We agree with you in full and we are asking you issue that particular ultimatum in writing so we can post it on our blogsites!

 

We hold you in the highest esteem and we thank you for your kindest co-operation in this regard!

 

Rev Mufaro Stig Hove.

 

THE RADICAL SOLDIER.

 

mufarostig@yahoo.co.uk

 

revmshove@yahoo.co.uk

 

Cell: 0791463039 RSA.

 

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MESSAGE FROM THE ZCTU AND ZINASU!

We are starving; we will eat your teargas!!!

 

.

 - Zimbabwe National Students Union

 

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)

 

has resolved that:

• All workers be mobilised to stay away from work from 3 to 4 April 2007
• National actions will be called for after every three months and they will be incremental until the situation improves

Poverty. Hyperinflation. Oppression. Unemployment. Failure of basic services.

• Show your disagreement with how our country is being mismanaged and SUPPORT the ZCTU and STAY AWAY ON 3 and 4 April 2007
• Read the ZCTU communique about the stay away on http://www.zctu.co.zw/html/stmts/21906.shtm or contact them for more information, on email info@zctu.co.zw or phone +263-4-794702/42 or +263-4-702517.
• Lobby your friends and colleagues - forward this email on to them.

Let the workers organise. Let the toilers assemble. Let their crystallized voice proclaim their injustices and demand their privileges. Let all thoughtful citizens sustain them, for the future of Labour is the future of Zimbabwe.

 

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AWARD FOR ZIM JOURNALIST IN SOUTH AFRICA!

 

Cross Border Association of Journalists(CAJ)

 cajexiles@yahoo.co.uk

 

  STATEMENT

 

Zimbabwean journalist based in South Africa, Zakeus Chibaya has won the Honourable International Award for Solidarity with Refugees for excellence journalism in exposing the ill-treatment of refugees and migrants and highlighting the plight their in South Africa.

 

Chibaya, a correspondent for The Zimbabwean and Institute for War and Peace Reporting has been reporting about refugee problems in South Africa under difficult circumstances because of resources and environment.

 

Some of his stories on refugees have managed to attracted international media attention. In one of the Special Reporting which was published by MO* Magazine in Belgium and funded by The Pascal Decroos Fund for Investigative Journalism, Chibaya, chronicled the problems facing refugees in South Africa.

 

Chibaya, 30, is also the Secretary General for Cross Border Association of Journalists, an organization for exiled journalists based in South Africa which strives to create opportunities for exiles journalists to continue with their profession in foreign land and a member of Forum for African Investigative Reporters.

 

He is currently studying Honours in Journalism at Wits University.

 

“By attributing the International Award, the jury members have appreciated and affirmed your commitment and dedication for the rights and betterment of peoples as fundamentals of common well,” said a statement from the jury.

 

The award will be conferred during the International Institute of Journalism World Congress to be held in Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada from 3 to 10 June 2007.The award is organized by International Institute of Journalism and Communication and International Catholic Union of the Press.

 

“With little resource and media space I have managed to put the refugee agenda on world map and I am happy it has been recognized. There is need for further documentation of refugee problems and weed out the root problems,” said Chibaya

 

The International Award for Solidarity with Refugees is awarded to media men and women can play a great role in preventing civil disputes, conflicts and wars which are among the first and major events that force people to leave their home and even homeland.

 

 

 Honouring and recognising media professionals who have campaigned for the dignity and the rights of refugees as human beings, so that media men and women worldwide commit themselves more and more to put an end to the refugee phenomenon.

 

 

 The international Award for Solidarity with Refugees is awarded to a maximum of seven best entries and their authors from different parts of the world.  The awardees may be invited to be consultants on refugee problems and to visit refugee camps and undertake activities in view of solving the refugee crisis.

 

For more information

072 274 1065

Cross Border Association of Journalists

 <cajexiles@yahoo.co.uk>

 

COSATU'S INTEREST IN ZIMBABWE!

Ex http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/Business/Article.aspx?id=419772

 

and posted on

 

www.cosatudemo.blogspot.com

 

 

 

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COSATU CLARIFIES ITS POSITION ON ZIMBABWE!

Cosatu not for regime change in Zim

 

 

  http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/Business/Article.aspx?id=419772

 

 

23 March 2007

We hope that this unity will extend to the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions as they embark on their national stayaway. This is the only way we can achieve change

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) was not for "a regime change" in Zimbabwe but wanted a political solution that the Zimbabweans themselves "should be helped to work on", Cosatu's general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, said in a statement.

Calling on members of the union federation to support demonstrations to be held in solidarity with the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) on April 3 and April 4 - when a national stayaway has been called in South Africa's neighbouring country - Vavi said Cosatu welcomed the display of unity between the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) articulated by their attendance of a joint public event on March 10.

"We hope that this unity will extend to the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) as they embark on their national stayaway. This is the only way we can achieve change," said Vavi.

"The main aim of our support for the Zimbabwe people must be to force President [Robert] Mugabe to engage directly with the ZCTU, MDC and the rest of the formations, including business and civil society. We are not for a regime change in Zimbabwe - that's the business of Zimbabweans, if they so wish to change their government through democratic means. All we want is a solution that the Zimbabweans themselves should be helped to work on."

In recent weeks the crisis in Zimbabwe had "scaled new heights", said Vavi.

"We have seen the murder of activist Gift Tandare and the arrest, severe beating and torture of the leaders of the two MDC factions and many others opposed to the government."

"Last year the leadership of the ZCTU were so severely [assaulted] that they could not come to address the Cosatu's ninth national congress. Those beatings and wanton arrests continue unabated. Recently police have been raiding the offices of the ZCTU, harassing, threatening and beating staff, searching offices and seizing fliers, files and videotapes, and have arrested union activists campaigning in support of the national stay-away planned for April 3 and 4."

Vavi reported that "the [Zimbabwean] government is stopping at nothing to crush the resistance of opposition parties, civil society organisations and the trade unions and ruthlessly trample on human rights".

The Cosatu general secretary asked himself why the Zimbabwe had "sunk so low" from the days when it was liberated in 1980 and Zanu-PF - a liberation movement - was installed as the new governing party, Vavi said the 1980 victory of Mugabe's party had "inspired me, and many others, to redouble our efforts to defeat apartheid [in South Africa]. The wave of decolonialisation sweeping through Africa showed us the enemy could be defeated. It dramatically altered the balance of power in the region, and opened a new front for our liberation movement.

Yet, the underlying social problems of poverty, unemployment and inequality remained "and were made even worse by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank-inspired economic structural adjustment programmes (ESAPs), which left the government without a coherent economic strategy. To this were added the unfair terms of trade, which hit all developing countries".

"The government began to move away from redistributive economic policies towards measures to attract foreign investment. Investment in health, education and other social services was cut. Privatisation and public service downsizing led to massive retrenchments."

Vavi noted that the government also failed to address the land question, which had always been at the core of the liberation struggle. The land was largely in the hands of whites, but for 20 years the government did nothing.

Then, to deflect attention from the destruction caused by embracing ESAPs and faced by the growing protest from the ZCTU and the real electoral threat from the MDC, the government suddenly launched its chaotic land grab campaign, "to mask its dismissal failure to deal with land question in its 20 years of rule".

Zimbabwe flagrantly disregarded the law and unleashed a wave of violence by pro-Zanu-PF hooligans, much of it directed at farm workers, Vavi said, adding:

"It was also a well-timed electoral gimmick by a leadership that had run out of ideas. It became a policy that discredited the whole land redistribution process."

Meanwhile, the government became increasingly heavy-handed, intolerant of dissent and political plurality, expressed in the tendency to label anyone who criticised government "as counter-revolutionary and an enemy of the revolution".

"The government has ruthlessly repressed the trade union movement - the mainstay of the forces calling for change. Meetings and demonstrations have been banned; leaders have been arrested and beaten and the government has tried to promote divisions, splits and violence using stooges in their payroll.

The ZCTU has nevertheless stood firm against the most intolerable attacks," Vavi concluded.

I-Net Bridge

 

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Lawyer Gugulethu Moyo: "Mugabe down but not yet out!"

Ex

 

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=302717&area=/insight/insight__comment_and_analysis/

 

and posted on www.zimdebate.blogspot.com

 

Thanks.

 

Rev Mufaro Stig Hove.

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ARCHBISHOP PREPARED TO FACE DICTATOR'S BULLETS!

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/03/22/zimbabwe.thursday/index.html

 

Pius Ncube: "If only Zimbabweans are prepared to stand, so am I prepared to stand ... we are not going to be bullied."

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

 

 

 

(CNN) -- A leading Zimbabwean cleric said on Thursday he was ready to face bullets in the street amid international condemnation of Robert Mugabe's regime and fears of a renewed wave of repression.

Pius Ncube, the Roman Catholic archbishop of the southern Bulawayo diocese, urged Zimbabweans to take to the streets in protest at the government's ongoing crackdown against dissenters opposed to the government, Reuters reported.

"The biggest problem with Zimbabweans is they are cowards, myself included, but as for me I am ready to stand in front, even of blazing guns," Ncube told a news conference.

"If only Zimbabweans are prepared to stand, so am I prepared to stand ... we are not going to be bullied."

Meanwhile Angola denied reports on Thursday claiming it had deployed members of a feared paramilitary police force to Zimbabwe in support of the government.

The UK's Times newspaper reported that around 2,500 Angolans, dubbed "Ninjas" because of their all-black uniform and reputation for brutality, were heading for Harare.

CNN's Jeff Koinange said Angolan state radio had denied the report.

Andrew Meldrum of the UK's Guardian newspaper told CNN that a Zimbabwean police spokesman had said there was "absolutely no truth" in the story.

But Meldrum said suggestions of Angolan involvement reflected rising discontent among Mugabe's own security forces.

"There is a growing sense of disloyalty and unrest within Zimbabwe's security forces," Meldrum told CNN.

"But Mugabe has the police, he has the army, he has the youth militia and he has the secret police so he controls the network of security that is thrown across the whole country.

Demonizing campaign

Zimbabwe's government on Thursday called for the support of other African nations in the face of what it called a "demonizing" campaign by Western governments and media agencies, Reuters reported.

"African countries must not allow themselves to be divided by imperialism," Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told senior Army officers at a Harare military school in a speech broadcast by Zimbabwe's state television network.

"The West, and the Western news networks are demonizing Zimbabwe, giving a one-sided perspective."

On Wednesday, the president of neighboring Zambia described Zimbabwe as a "sinking Titanic" as growing numbers of refugees fled the country's economic and political turmoil. Levy Mwanawasa added that the Southern African Development Community "would soon take a stand" on Zimbabwe. (Full story)

In an interview with The Associated Press, the U.S. ambassador in Harare, Christopher Dell said that a power struggle to replace Mugabe was under way within the ruling ZANU-PF party, but said the aging president would not quit without a fight.

"Mugabe is a very resourceful fellow. One has to give him certain grudging admiration for his political skills, I mean he's managed to stay in power for 27 years, that's no mean feat," Dell told AP. (Full story)

"He is far from giving up. That he has made very evident," Dell added. "He's not prepared to go down without a fight, but he is weaker than he's ever been before, because the economy has simply made him weaker and because everyone recognizes that he's 83 years old."

Dell's comments, made during a scheduled trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, followed the Zimbabwe government's threat to expel Western diplomats openly siding with opposition leaders.

Zimbabwe's foreign minister summoned ambassadors from several countries, including the U.S., that have been critical of the government and "issued a threat to foreign diplomats to remain quiet or face being declared persona non grata," a U.S. State Department spokesman said.

After the minister refused to allow the diplomats to respond, Dell walked out of Monday's meeting in Harare, telling CNN he refused "to serve as a mere stage prop for the foreign minister's press conference."

Brutally beaten

Concerns over Mugabe's government were reignited on March 11 when the leaders of Zimbabwe's main opposition group, Movement for Democratic Change, said they were brutally beaten and detained by Zimbabwe forces for their role in a rally.

Video showed MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai arriving at a courthouse two days after the incident with a deep gash to his head, and walking with a cane. Tsvangirai and fellow MDC leader Arthur Mutambara said they were trying to hold a peaceful prayer meeting when they were beaten and detained.

Last weekend, several MDC leaders and officials -- some seeking medical treatment for the wounds received in the March 11 incident -- were prevented from leaving the country by Zimbabwe forces.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa was attacked and beaten on Sunday near Harare International Airport, where he was scheduled to depart for a conference in Brussels, Belgium. Tsvangirai told CNN he believed Mugabe's government was behind the attack.

Zimbabwe's state-controlled Herald newspaper said Thursday that a High COurt judge had ruld that two of the officials, Sekai Holland and Grace Kwinje, would be allowed to travel abroad for medical treatement, Reuters reported.

Zimbabwe's government has repeatedly accused the opposition group of using brutal tactics. Machivenyika Mapuranga, Zimbabwe's ambassador to the U.S., accused MDC "thugs" of burning buses and police stations in Zimbabwe, and accused Western diplomats of supporting these actions.

He also blamed Western news media, including the BBC and CNN, of biased reporting against Mugabe's government. (Video | Transcript)

Zimbabwe's government has repeatedly rejected CNN's request to send a reporter into the country.

Mugabe has been Zimbabwe's only ruler since it achieved independence 27 years ago. Under his rule, the once-prosperous country has suffered an economic crisis, with routine shortages of food, electricity and foreign currency. Inflation is estimated to exceed 1,700 percent.

While there is no official figure, unemployment among Zimbabweans is estimated at 80 percent.

Elections are scheduled for March 2008, and Mugabe has indicated he intends to run again.

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

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ZIM INJURED WOMEN TO ATTEND COSATU SEMINAR!

Friday, March 23, 2007

http://domza.blogspot.com/2007/03/rights-and-action.html

Rights and Action

COSATU's Seminar on Swaziland and Zimbabwe starts this morning at 09h15 in COSATU House, 1 Leyds Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg. It is expected that at least one of the two MDC women who arrived in Johannesburg yesterday from Harare for medical treatment will be there. The women are Grace Kwinjeh and Sekai Holland (pictured). They were beaten up following the rally in Highfields, Harare on March 11. Also speaking will be COSATU GS Zwelinzima Vavi and Zimbabwean academic Brian Raftopoulos.

Also today, at 13h00, NUMSA will be picketing the Japanese Embassy, following the sudden and unilateral retrenchment of 410 workers by the Nissan car company. See the link below for details.

Next, as a further contribution to the Great Proletarian Culture Debate initiated by DITSELA in general and by Gino Govender in particular, see the link to Lenin's brief statement on the occasion of the curtailment of the "Proletkult" organisation, in 1920. There is also a very interesting on-line book on the Proletkult by Lynn Mally, called Culture of the Future.

The six COSATU public sector unions have declared a deadlock in their negotiations with their employer, the government. The gap is wide on the main pay increase demand, and none of the other terms are agreed, either. The government has dragged its feet on the process with the result that the due date of the deal, April 1st, is almost upon us. There will be a period of conciliation, after which there could be an enormous strike if no agreement is forthcoming. See the statement, linked below.

COSATU's General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi is scheduled to make three major speeches in the next few days. One is today, at the Zimbabwe/Swaziland seminar. Another is on Sunday, at the YCL Chris Hani Commemoration Rally in Limpopo. Then next Thursday, there will be a press conference following the long-awaited bilateral meeting between COSATU and the SACP. See the link for more details.

Also from the YCL, see the Bottom Line, linked below, for their National Secretary Buti Manamela's Botswana diary, and the YCL's statement on human rights.

There will be a second Communist University post today with the first instalment of the ANC's newly-published discussion documents.

Click on these links:

Numsa pickets Japanese Embassy over Nissan retrenchments (245 words)

On Proletarian Culture, Lenin, 1920 (926 words)

COSATU public service unions bargaining statement (631 words)

COSATU Media Alert - Zwelinzima Vavi speaks (278 words)

YCL, Bottom Line, Botswana Diaries, Human Rights (2936 words)

 

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US AMBASSADOR DELL 's INTERVIEW WITH VIOLET GONDA OF SWRADIOAFRICA!

Please kindly go to www.zimdebate.blogspot.com for the said Interview!

 

http://zimdebate.blogspot.com/2007/03/ambassador-dell-of-united-states.html

 

Thank you.

 

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ZAMBIAN PRESIDENT COMPARES ZIMBABWE TO SINKING SHIP!

Zimbabwe is a sinking titanic - Levy By George Chellah http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=24181 Thursday March 22, 2007

President Mwanawasa PRESIDENT Levy Mwanawasa has urged southern Africa to take a new approach to Zimbabwe, which he likened to a "sinking Titanic" as millions flee economic and political turmoil. And Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will send a delegation to lodge an official complaint to the Zambian government over foreign affairs minister Mundia Sikatana's utterances on the human rights situation in his country. According to Reuters yesterday, President Mwanawasa, who is currently in Namibia is reported to have said that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had failed to achieve much in negotiations with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. "Quiet diplomacy has failed to help solve the political chaos and economic meltdown in Zimbabwe," Mwanawasa said late on Monday in Namibia. "As I speak right now, one SADC country has sunk into such economic difficulties that it may be likened to a sinking Titanic whose passengers are jumping out in a bid to save their lives." And addressing journalists before departure for Namibia on Tuesday, President Mwanawasa said SADC would soon take a stand on the situation in Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, President Robert Mugabe would send a delegation to lodge an official complaint to the Zambian government over Sikatana's utterances on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe. Acting foreign affairs minister and chief government spokesperson Vernon Mwaanga yesterday confirmed media reports that the Zimbabwean government was sending a delegation over the matter. "We have received information to that effect. We are waiting to receive the delegation, which will be sent by President Robert Mugabe to make representation to the Zambian government concerning the statement made in Parliament by foreign affairs minister Mundia Sikatana," Mwaanga said. He said President Mugabe's delegation would be warmly received. "Whatever issues they will raise will be discussed in a very open and frank manner as it has always been in the past," Mwaanga said. "They are welcome and we will listen to whatever they will say. They are our brothers and we are ready to discuss anything with them." Last week in parliament, Sikatana defiantly raised concern at the deteriorating human rights situation in Zimbabwe and the spill-over effects on neighbouring countries. Despite parliamentary committees chairman Mkhondo Lungu advising Sikatana not to mention names of the countries he was debating because it was against parliamentary procedure, Sikatana assured that he would not violate the rules of the National Assembly. He said Zambia had taken a strong view that she should not keep silent when human rights were violated. He said the Zambian government was not against Zimbabwe but was concerned that Zimbabweans were suffering. "We are not saying we are against Zimbabwe," Sikatana said. He said some Zimbabweans were becoming refugees in Zambia, Botswana and South Africa. He said although the illegal Zimbabwean immigrants were deported, they still returned. Sikatana said Zambia was the first country to urge the SADC to be concerned about the happenings in Zimbabwe.

Print Article | Email Article | Previous Page | Archives | Homepage

 

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UNITED STATES REFUTES ZANU-PF (CEASER ZVAYI ) DESPERATE PROPAGANDA!

Govt Spin Doctors Desperate to Lend Credence to the 'Big Lie'

 

http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200703190621.html

Zimbabwe Standard (Harare)
OPINION
March 18, 2007
Posted to the web March 19, 2007
Harare

I normally pay little more than brief, amused attention to the barely cogent and semi-literate scribblings of George, er, Nathaniel Manheru and his equally incoherent sidekick Caesar Zvayi. However, given the current climate in Zimbabwe, I feel that their bumbling efforts to practice the Big Lie touch upon issues too important for the future of the country to be simply dismissed with a wry chuckle.

Key to the government's efforts to justify its brutal and unwarranted crackdown on its own citizens is the assertion that the people of Zimbabwe are a contented lot who would quietly go about their happy lives were it not for the evil machinations of the -- choose your epithet -- "imperialists," "former colonialists," or "racists/Westerners/enemies." The government's spin doctors' current favourite "example" is the story they have fabricated from thin air about my alleged meeting with Morgan Tsvangarai and Arthur Mutambara at the Bronte Hotel in Harare on 9 January.

This meeting, according to the spin doctors, is the sole reason Zimbabweans today are increasingly vocal in their protests against the government and determined to push for change. To lend their fantasy the appearance of fact, Messrs. Manheru and Zvayi (unably abetted by the pseudo-intellectual rantings of Tafataona Mahoso in The Sunday Mail and a legion of faceless Herald Reporters), have invented colourful details: the size of each side's delegation, a cash-filled briefcase , etc.

The facts are somewhat different: 1) on the date of the supposed meeting I was in Bulawayo, on vacation with visiting family. In fact, if anyone wants to check for themselves, they can go to the Natural History Museum there and see where I signed the guest book (I realise that the relevant page is likely to disappear in "mysterious circumstances" when this is published, but never mind: there are other witnesses who can verify that I was indeed in Bulawayo on that day, including diplomats and, of course, the ubiquitous CIO, which tracked me throughout my holiday); 2) I have never set foot inside the Bronte Hotel and was unaware of its very existence until Zvayi kindly brought it to my attention; 3) the first and only time I have ever met jointly with Tsvangarai and Mutambara was courtesy of the Government of Zimbabwe. That meeting took place last Tuesday, 13 March in Magistrates' Court 6 in Harare. I think we can all offer the government a large vote of thanks for bringing these two leaders together and giving them an opportunity to get to know each other better.

One can only imagine just how badly the government misses the services of the former Minister of Information, who knew that to tell the Big Lie successfully, one had to get the little lies right. I humbly suggest that the spin doctors could do with a few lessons from their Professor, or since time for them is growing short, that they look back to history to consult the original writings on the Big Lie for some badly needed advice. Meanwhile, the unfortunate people of Zimbabwe will continue to grapple with the sad truth that their lives have been made a living hell thanks to the failed policies of a failing regime.

Christopher W Dell

U.S Ambassador

Harare

 

SPECIAL COMMENT POSTED ON WEBSITE!

Zimbabwe is about White Supremacy

 

BY John Iteshi

 

http://johntina1.spaces.live.com/

 
Izhiogoagbo@yahoo.com

London

 

 

Racism, the worst kind of racism is the only reason for British media’s obsessions about Mugabe. Nothing in Zimbabwe equates to one tenth of what happens in each of the 36 states of Nigeria. What the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, did by trying to instigate mass uprising, cannot be attempted successfully by anybody in Nigeria today. Just dreaming of it aloud will put you in jail in Nigeria let alone starting it. Before 2003 general elections key political opponents of the Federal government and various state governments were assassinated, but they made no real news to BBC and other western media. Just few months ago in Ebonyi State one of the poorest States, the governor locked up two journalists for over three months for publishing articles which accused the governor, Sam Egwu of corruption in a local newspaper. What a pity, this fact did not make any news to the democracy loving western media! Currently, oppositions at all levels are being openly suppressed and systematically excluded from contesting the next elections by the electoral body headed by a government stooge (in fact there are clear evidence that the head of the electoral body has forged certificate but he cannot be removed because he has a mission to install government candidates). The vice president of Nigeria is openly humiliated and denied his official privileges just for standing up against the plot by the president to extend his rule through the back door. One would have expected the democracy loving white world to stand up against the evil regime of Obasanjo, but nothing like that has happened.

The clear message being sent across Black Africa seems to be that all one needs to succeed as president of his country is to be a friend of the west even at the expense of his people just like Obasanjo and not transparency and good governance. The fact is now clearest that any Black African leader regarded as good by the west is definitely evil or incompetent. Example Obasanjo vis-à-vis General Abacha who was condemned in the west but has left indelible landmarks of great infrastructural development in Nigeria... For the benefit of those who are unaware of the facts. Abacha ruled Nigeria between November 1993 and June 1998 during which the oil market was not at all booming, but used the meagre resources wisely enough to rehabilitate roads, hospitals universities and other public amenities through the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). Obasanjo’s democracy has ruled Nigeria since may 1999 witnessing unprecedented increase in revenue through the unprecedented oil boom and irresponsible disposals of the most lucrative public corporations in the name of privatisation, but has achieved virtually no definite success in any sector. Roads are basically left where Abacha left them in 1998 and I speak as an enlightened Nigerian who knows Nigeria. I visited Nigeria in 2005 October and travelled by coach round the country to see if there has been any changes. I travelled from Abuja to Abakaliki via Enugu; from Enugu to Onitsha - Benin - Ore - Lagos and from Lagos to Ibadan-Okene-Abuja and was shocked to see that we have wasted 8years of unprecedented economic boom. There are global drumming about economic reforms and progress in Nigeria, while the reality is that only white rogues collaborating with the government are the gainers. Destroying landline phones networks and public payphones in order to force every Nigerian to depend on GSM (which enriches mainly white South Africans) is what people call economic progress in Nigeria. The fact that western media and their governments have continued to praise a government as evil as Obasanjo’s despite clear evidences of everything they claim to stand against makes me confident that any government condemned by the west might not be all bad after all. Perhaps, Idi Amin might have not been as bad!
It seems to me that the only reason the white world is against Mugabe is because he expelled white farmers because genuine concern for the Black race would have meant that Nigeria being the largest Black society would be given greater focus. It is now clear to me that BBC and other British media are far worse than the British National Party (BNP) which is labelled racist. The BNP is not threatening the existence and survival of the Black race while British journalists are. I am most grateful for the hospitality of the British state for affording me the good life and respect that no Black country can afford its Black citizens. I do not shy away from the hard fact that the most racist white country would treat ordinary Black immigrants better than the best Black country would treat its own citizens. Therefore, I am grateful to Britain, but at the same time believe that my people must be enlightened about the true location of racism. The real racism is not about local people genuinely resenting to uncontrolled immigration of dubious people into their country. I put myself in the shoes of ordinary white British people who have no other country to run to! What I call racism at its worst is the one-sided stand of the "white world" on Zimbabwe.

It is accepted that the takeover of white farms could have been more diplomatically done, but it cannot justify the current scale of global condemnation of Mugabe. What the white supremacists pretending to be messiahs are insinuating is that Zimbabwe cannot survive without white farmers who clearly were not even farming to feed Zimbabweans in the first place. What is being propagated around the world is that no Black country can survive on its own even though, I know that there had been no evidence of starvation since the controversial take over of farms. What needs to be done by enlightened and decolonised Black people is to rally round and use the Zimbabwean case as an inspiration for building successful societies. Zimbabwe is by far more democratic and successful than most other Black African countries like Nigeria, Sudan, Uganda, DRC etc., but today it bears the ignoble reputation of being one of the worst places to live in. Even though nobody can prove that the best of the 36 state governors of Nigeria is not worst than 10 Mugabes as I have severally challenged the BBC to do, we are still being fed with lies about Mugabe. It is therefore very clear that Mugabe would have remained a friend of the west if he had not expelled white farmers. Hence, it is purely and squarely about race!
John Iteshi
http://johntina1.spaces.live.com/
Izhiogoagbo@yahoo.com
London

A POEM BY BRO DANIEL MOLOKELA!

FREEDOM CHETE!

 

Those who’ve always known her

Say she is not only such a beauty

But that she’s always vivacious

Abounding with energy and life!

 

Yet today when I saw she was so different

It wasn’t the normal her at all

As she limped up to court with her co-accused

She was visibly drained and deflated!

 

Her normally beautiful bright face

Was not so today, she looked a bit darker

Her eyes were ruddy, more of blood shot

Far from the sparking white eyes she normally has!

 

Those who saw her latest pictures

Say she now has a battered body

Polished black all over by the brutality of the police

Far from her normally golden crisp body!

 

I also saw her as she struggled out of the court

The medics also had seen enough of her pain

She was lifted up into a waiting ambulance

Driven through the avenues to a hospital ward

 

But as she left, a stinking air of injustice filled the air

Covering the whole rotten area of the magistrates courts

 

But I am told when she woke up in her bed

In the privacy of Avenues Clinic

The nurses thought the first words she muttered

Had a familiar ring around her!

 

“Freedom Chete!!!!”

 

All she wanted was her people’s freedom

All she wanted was her own freedom

“Freedom Chete!”

That’s all she wanted. Just that!!!

Mr. Daniel Molokele
Centurion, Pretoria, RSA
Cel. +27 72 947 4815
Tel. +27 12 657 1445
Fax. +27 86 691 6257
Website: www.danielmolokele.com

ACCESSING SWRADIOAFRICA AND ZIMDAILY WEBSITES!

 

If you have difficulties accessing the SWRADIOAFRICA WEBSITE, PLEASE ACCESS IT BY CLICKING BELOW!

 

http://www.swradioafrica.com/index.php

 

http://www.zimdaily.com/index.php

ZIMBABWE: OUTPOST OF TYRANNY!

Please keep an eye on this website at all times!

 

http://zimbabweoutpostoftyranny.typepad.com

"Blame Mugabe, not West, for crisis!" SAYS CDE EDGAR TEKERE!

Blame Mugabe for crisis and not the West, says Tekere http://news.sulekha.com/nlink.aspx?cid=399695 http://news.sulekha.com/newsitemdisplay.aspx?cid=399695&cat=Source

Edgar Tekere.   By Dennis Rekayi MUTARE - Edgar Tekere, the controversial former Zanu PF secretary general, says Zimbabweans must not be fooled by President Robert Mugabe to believe that the country is under Western-backed sanctions because the punitive measures are targeted only at a few individuals in the ruling government and party. The tough-talking maverick politician said Zimbabweans should never accept propaganda by Mugabe and his party that the whole population was under the sanctions backed by the European Union, the United States, New Zealand and other countries in the West. He said problems bedevilling Zimbabwe should be placed squarely on Mugabe and his bungling government which promised people milk and honey at independence only to drive the country into chaos through greed, corruption, mismanagement and related things. Tekere said this while addressing members of the Mutare Press Club at the weekend. Mugabe and his government have for the past few years been blaming the so-called targeted sanctions imposed by the EU and others after the disputed 2002 presidential elections for crippling the country's economy. Many blame Mugabe's controversial policies such as the land-grab programme for destroying the backbone of the country's economy. Tekere said Mugabe was deliberately hoodwinking the entire population to believe the country was under sanctions when it was not. "The sanctions are targeted on Mugabe not all Zimbabweans," Tekere told members of the Mutare Press Club. "That's a lot of nonsense because the sanctions are not targeted at all Zimbabweans." He said Mugabe was the biggest loser since can no longer to travel to England, a country "he is so fond of". "Mugabe was very fond of London. Even if he could travel to Latin America, India, or countries in Africa, Mugabe would make it a point that he went via London," said Tekere. "Now he is no longer going there to shop around." At the Mutare Press Club, Tekere warned he could take legal action against individuals such as Augustine Chihuri, the police chief, for defaming him after the launch of his book, the Struggle of a Lifetime, which the Zanu PF government has been trying to rubbish since it was published. Chihuri was quoted in the state-controlled Herald newspaper last week saying Tekere could not be considered for the leadership of both Zanu PF and the country during the war of liberation because he was a "drunkard". Chihuri was dismissing claims contained in Tekere's book that it was the former Zimbabwe Unity Movement leader, who propelled Mugabe to the ruling party and the country's leadership. "That is serious defamation," Tekere warned. "Chihuri is a custodian of the law. He should not trample on it." Meanwhile the campaign urging the EU to renew the targeted sanctions against Mugabe and his lieutenants is gathering momentum with human rights groups and international labour unions leading the way to present evidence why the EU should not be divided over the issue. The sanctions expire in February. The British government has since dismissed media reports that there are divisions within the EU over targeted sanctions imposed in 2002. There are also on-going campaigns to stop the French from inviting President Mugabe to the Franco-Africa summit which is set to be held in the Cannes.

 

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NELSON CHAMISA BRUTALIZED!

19 March 2007

http://www.nehandaradio.com/chamisaassaulted190307.html

 

The spokesman for Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader was assaulted by security forces as he tried to leave the country today, a party official said.

Nelson Chamisa, aide to Morgan Tsvangirai, the Movement for Democratic Change leader, was assaulted at Harare International Airport as he was leaving for Belgium via London to attend a meeting of the European Union and Africa Caribbean Pacific in Brussels, the party’s secretary general, Tendai Biti, said from Johannesburg.

“He was beaten on the head with iron bars. There was blood all over his face. He is in a critical condition at a private hospital in Harare,” Mr Biti said.

The assault follows the re-arrests at the airport on Saturday of three opposition activists, who were allegedly assaulted along with Mr Tsvangirai when police broke up a March 11 protest meeting.

Meanwhile, President Robert Mugabe accused the opposition of being terrorists supported by Britain and the West, as Mr Tsvangirai said the crisis in Zimbabwe had reached a “tipping point.”

Zimbabwean police used tear gas, water cannon and live ammunition to crush the March 11 gathering, and beat activists, during and after arrests, according to opposition members.

Mr Mugabe, 83, has rejected the international condemnation following the arrests and alleged beating, lashing out at critics and telling them to “go hang,” and he vowed to crackdown on further protests.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark International Women’s Day in Harare on Saturday, Mr Mugabe accused the opposition party of resorting to violence sponsored by former colonial power Britain and other Western allies to oust his government, a newspaper reported.

Zimbabwe is facing a critical moment that could see the end of Mugabe’s dictatorship, Mr Tsvangirai said by telephone from Harare where he is recovering from injuries.

Photographs of his battered face were printed in newspapers around the world.

“Things are bad,” Tsvangirai told the BBC’s Sunday AM program, “but I think that this crisis has reached a tipping point, and we could see the beginning of the end of this dictatorship in whatever form.”

Mr Tsvangirai left the hospital on Friday battered but defiant, pledging to “soldier on until Zimbabwe is free.” His supporters vowed to drive Mugabe from office with a campaign of civil disobedience.

In the interview with the BBC program, he also criticized South Africa for its role in the crisis. Calling the country a “critical player,” he said South Africa “could have been more strong,” and urged continued pressure from both the African Union and the international community, as well as individual nations such as the United States.

A regional power center, South Africa has come under fire for its policy of “quiet diplomacy” toward Zimbabwe, arguing that working behind the scenes would do more to encourage reform than isolating its president.

But now calls have been made for African nations to speak out against Mugabe’s treatment of the opposition. - Times Online.

Related articles

ANC issues statement on Zimbabwe beatings
Police shoot activists at funeral in Harare
Statement from acting MDC president: T Khupe
Zimbabwe torture of opposition sparks fury
Tsvangirai still being held
Tsvangirai arrested, protester killed in Highfields

 

Bro Moeletsi Mbeki Paints A Gloom Picture For Zimbabwe !

http://crybelovedzimbabwe.blogspot.com/2007/03/moeletsi-mbeki-paints-gloom-picture-for.html

Moeletsi Mbeki Paints A Gloom Picture For Zimbabwe

I watched Moeletsi Mbeki's interview on Sky News this morning and I am afraid the picture is bleak. He starts by pointing out that Zimbabwe is a landlocked country that if any pressure was needed then it can only be exerted by the neighbouring countries i.e South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. He then points out what he conceives as the primary reason for the neighbours for not exerting pressure on Zimbabwe is mostly because they fear that their support for MDC and Morgan Tsvangirai would send a wrong message for Africa's most industrialised region. Souther Africa being the most industrialised has more people working and this has given rise to trade unionism, the trade unions using their sheer size are becoming more and more political. He cites the case of Zambia where Kenneth Kaunda was ousted by a trade union leader after 27 years in power. Therefore African leaders are reluctant to be drawn into the issue of Zimbabwe for fear that they own labour movement might oust them from power one day. Mr Mbeki argues that the influx of refugees would not make a big policy change as he acknowledged that even in South Africa, COSATU the largest umbrella labour body in whole of Africa poses a threat to South Africa's ANC led government. COSATU is only civic body together with The Church Council of Souther Africa which issued a statement concerned by what was happening in Zimbabwe. On Human Rights day in South Africa it has promised to demonstrate against South Africa's quiet diplomacy and the illegal arrest and torture of Zimbabwean's opposition and civic leaders on their way to a prayer meeting.

Mbeki having lived in Zimbabwe when he was forced to flee apartheid was there when Mugabe ordered the massacre of more than 50 000 civilians to crush Joshua Nkomo's opposition Zapu PF which later merged with Mugabe's Zanu PF. He then uses this example to say that things will get worse before they get better in Zimbabwe. Asked about the fact that The MDC President feels that last Sunday's events were a tipping point, he answers that Morgan is an optimist. He says he knows Mugabe personally and know that he has an appetite for violence and will continue to exert brutal violence to stop regime change in Zimbabwe.

Mr Moeletsi Mbeki is a brother to South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki, has a strong background in journalism, with a resume that includes a Nieman Fellowship and time at the BBC. He was a media consultant for the ANC in the '90s, and is currently the chairman of Endemol South Africa. He has always bee outspoken and differs on many things from his brother South Africa's president. He caused waves when he said: Africans Were Better Off During Colonial Times Than They Are Now

 

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"BRITAIN SHOULD NOT INVADE ZIMBABWE!"

I dont believe Britain has any right at all to intervene. They created the mess by refusing to honour the Lancaster House agreement, how can we ever trust them. They are now hell bent on foisting Tsvangirai on us. How much do they know about him? It will just be another dictator taking over. MDC is also known for beating up non supporters. In the townships you dont know who to support because both Zanu and MDC will assault you if you say you belong to the wrong party. Britain does not know what is happening at grass roots so how can they be justified to intervene. Zimbabwean please rise up and liberate yourselves! I cant believe that all the strong, intelligent men and women of Zimbabwe are cant do it for themselves.

 

ANONYMOUS.

ANOTHER SOLIDARITY MESSAGE!

Astonishingly pleasant to read. Congratulations.

I'm an Argentinian. The bank establishment robbed me from my college fund and my financial future as it was before 2001. Of course, both situations, Argentina half a decade ago and zimbabwe today, are far far different socially, economically, etc. However, one thing remains quite clear to me. If you can't harbor discontent and anger into polital action, you have chosen the wrong leader.
In the first week of 2002 we had three presidents in a row, we had voted for none of them. They were simply there for one reason; each of them were to divide the burden that a decade of Attila-the-hun- style neoliberal economics had placed on our shoulders. Instead of one guy putting forward a bunch of reforms, they hid behind their finger pointing and "it wasn't me, it was the previous/next guy" press conference answers. We have no one to try, no one to hold responsible, not even symbolically.

So what i say is; if tsvangirai can't or won't go all the way, find another messiah. If not, you'll end up with a weak figure, handled by some grey eminence, just like us.

COSATU Seminar on Swaziland and Zimbabwe!

Dear Cdes,

 

Please receive our sincere apologies for the oversight as regards the missing date in our previous communication on the seminar. The date is the 23rd March, 2007 (next Friday).

 

Please find attached the following details about the seminar. Please also be reminded that planning sessions for solidarity actions are on-going, we are having the next one next Monday (19th March, 2007) @ 14h00 at COSATU House, 10th floor in Braamfontein.

 

Comradely Regards,

 

 

COSATU International

 

Invites you to a

 

Seminar on Swaziland and Zimbabwe

 

The position of the Swaziland and Zimbabwean economies in the Southern African region: What should be done to intensify the struggle for democracy and fundamental social change

 

 

1. Keynote address – COSATU General Secretary – Zwelinzima Vavi

 

Speakers:

 

2.  Vincent Dlamini – General Secretary (SNACS – Public Sector Union – Swaziland)

 

3.  Brian Raftopoulous - Zimbabwean Left academic and activist

 

 

Venue: 10^th floor, COSATU House

Time: 9h00 – 15h30

Date: 23^rd March, 2007

 

 

To be followed by a planning session on processes towards solidarity action for both countries;

·       Swaziland – 12^th April, Border Blockade

·       Zimbabwe – 03 April, March to the Zimbabwean Consulate

-----Original Message-----
From: zimbabwe-fight-on-dont-mourn@googlegroups.com [mailto:zimbabwe-fight-on-dont-mourn@googlegroups.com]On Behalf Of phillan zamchiya
Sent: 15 March 2007 06:57 PM
To: zimbabwe-fight-on-dont-mourn@googlegroups.com
Subject: [Zim Fight On] Re: Seminar on Zimbabwe and Swaziland - invite

Comrade Bongani

 

Can you kindly furnish us with the date of this important seminar?

Bongani Masuku <bongani@cosatu.org.za> wrote:

 

COSATU International invites you to a seminar on Swaziland and Zimbabwe

10^th floor, COSATU House, starting @ 9h00, Braamfontein

 

The position of the Swaziland and Zimbabwean economies in the Southern African region: What should be done to intensify the struggle for democracy and fundamental social change

 

Abstract

The current conflict in Swaziland is premised on popular demands for multi-party politics, democratisation and an end to an absolute monarchy. In Southern Africa, Swaziland is the only country ruled by an absolute monarch. The country which has the longest state of emergency in the region, because since 1973 only the royal family have a right to participate in the political and economic life of the country as surrogates of British, and later elements of South African capital. It is a country structured along neo-colonial and semi-feudal lines. The monarchy is an agent of British imperialism, investing Swazi money in Crown agents in England and supported by the M16 military establishment of Britain. Key economic indicators include very high HIV/AIDS statistics, due to abuse of culture by the royal family, terrifying unemployment levels and entrenched political repression with no political activity being allowed since 1973. But, why has Swaziland escaped the international radar for so long and why is it that few know of the regular arrests of political activists, workers and generalised repression in that country. Political parties remain  banned, hence the frequent arrests of PUDEMO members.

Whilst Zimbabwe, once the shining example of progressive transformation and economic development in the region, has become a classical example of a ruined hope, skyrocketing inflation, terrifying unemployment levels and systematic political repression. What went wrong and what lessons for other countries in the region and beyond. The Zimbabwe issue has generated contentious debates about the essence and meaning of fundamental transformation and the exact meaning of anti-imperialism and its relationship with democratic and popular participation in the country's affairs. This debate about Zimbabwe has also been very intense within the ranks of the progressive alliance here in South Africa, where alliance partners do not share a common view on what should be done and what forces should be mobilised and how, to deal with the crisis there. The frequent arrests of political and worker activists is intensifying to extreme levels.

 

In the light of these developments, the seminar seek to deepen an understanding of the structure of the Southern African economy and towards that end, how do Swaziland and Zimbabwe fit into the structure. What are the core pillars sustaining the oppressive institutions in these two countries and what pressure points can be identified to make a decisive difference in our solidarity work with the comrades from these two countries. 

 

In General

What similarities and differences exist between these two countries and what experiences can be shared by the progressive forces as they take forward their struggle for democracy and fundamental social change.

 

PROGRAMME 

 

9.15           Welcome

                  2^nd Deputy President, Sidumo Dlamini

 

9.35                Keynote address and official opening of the seminar

                  Zwelinzima Vavi, General Secretary, COSATU

 

10.0             Presentation

·        Vincent Dlamini - General Secretary (SNACS, Public Sector Union - Swaziland)

·        Brian Raftopoulos - Zimbabwean Left academic and activist

11.00         Discussion

 

11h30      Tea Break

 

11h45       Discussion

 

13h30 Lunch

 

14h00: Planning meeting for Solidarity actions with both countries:

 

·        Swaziland Border Blockade - 12^th April, 2007l

·        Zimbabwe March to the consulate - 03 April, 2007

 

15h30: Closure

[Bongani Masuku]  </SPAN

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Don't pick lemons.
See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos.</A

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Mr. Daniel Molokele
Centurion, Pretoria
South Africa
Cell. +27 72 947 4815
Tel. +27 12 657 1445
Fax. +27 86 691 6257
Website: www.danielmolokele.com

---

Don't pick lemons.
See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos.