Thursday (31/08/2006) Bulletin

Each blue headline below is a link to the relevant article...

• Mugabe Takes Land Issue Too Far TBM speaks: We all know that Mugabe does not like Tony Blair and I have even heard a homemade music mix of Mugabe's jibe to Blair, "You keep your England, let me keep my Zimbabwe" but when he publicly is seeking assistance to mend bridges between England and Zimbabwe, and also making wisecracks about Blair, one begins to wonder about his sincerity. "It is now habitual for Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe to either vilify or crack a joke about the British Prime Minister Tony Blair whenever he gives a public speech. But while his party oligarchs ululate and applaud him, the majority of the people suffering under his draconian rule do not see the humor in it. Mugabe was addressing Roman Catholic parishioners at Mkoba stadium in Gweru on Saturday when he said, "The government stood steadfast on the land issue. We told Blair we want our land, it's our land." He went on to say, "Blair cannot solve our problems. A problem in Zimbabwe should be solved by Zimbabweans." Many people were stunned by his blurting as he continued, "As politicians, we are here to grow food for you. If we don't, you feel the effects. We all starve." Mugabe is as insistent as ever than he needs no help from anyone in running his country, but we see other members of his government falling over themselves to try and sort out the problems between Zimbabwe and England. Mugabe does not like Tony Blair, but even so, a country such as Zimbabwe needs all the assistance it can get, and would do well to ally itself with the western democracies before writing them off completely.

• No Help For Zimbabwe's Homeless TBM speaks: Just last week I wrote how the Zimbabwean government has accepted help from the UN in the form of plastic tarpaulins to be used as shelter for the homeless in Hatcliffe. just out of Harare. "Church leader say that almost nothing has been done to house 700 000 people in Zimbabwe who lost their homes and livelihoods in demolitions last year. Operation Murambatsvina, which the government said was a campaign to clean up cities, was condemned by the UN." But the Mugabe government will always distance themselves from the real reason for the destruction of homes and businesses, saying that they were trying to break the criminal element that was taking over the towns and cities. It is believed in other circles that he real reason was to break the MDC voter base that were building up in the cities. "The Solidarity Peace Trust, a church-based group, say the whole exercise has further impoverished many Zimbabweans. A report says the situation remains dire 15 months later. Out of more than 10 000 displaced people in the west of the country, not one person has been officially housed by the government, according to the Trust, which is co-chaired by the Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube."

• "Welcome To A New Sunrise In Zimbabwe": Or Murambatsvina Part 2 TBM speaks: "From 1 August 2006, Zimbabwe has a new currency. The last three digits of the old currency have been lopped off to create the revalued dollar. The regime has dubbed this "Operation Sunrise", and we are serenaded with the slogans "Zero to Hero" and "Restore value". This change has been necessitated by the effect of inflation on the Zimbabwe economy, where shopping was done in millions, if not billions, and large bundles of cash were needed for the simplest transactions. Roadblocks manned by the Youth Militia (or so-called Green Bombers) have been set up to catch "unpatriotic" Zimbabweans who were carrying in excess of the legal limit of $100 million (old dollars). Banks have been instructed to seize sums deposited by individuals in excess of this amount, pending Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) investigation into the source of the funds." A nightmare for the people of Zimbabwe. "...it is all-pervasive: it affects Shona and Ndebele and others alike. The "moment of madness" (Mugabe's description of the atrocities) of the 1980's Gukurahundi massacres was targeted at one ethnic group, but Operation Murambatsvina started in Harare and spread rapidly to provincial towns and cities; it was said that there was barely a family who was not affected, either directly or indirectly. Likewise, the new currency affects every citizen of Zimbabwe." Will Mugabe ever relent and allow his peace-loving population to rebuild their dream country, or will him continue with the oppression and hatred? I doubt that Mugabe will EVER stop visiting the nightmares upon his own people.

• Zimbabwe Defends Lack Of Housing TBM speaks: "A Zimbabwe government minister says there is no truth in a report by Church leaders that heavily criticised the state's housing demolitions last year. Church leaders said in a report that almost nothing had been done to house 700,000 people who lost their homes and livelihoods in the demolitions." Minister Didymus Mutasa, who lately has threatened the population with armed force in the event of mass protest or civil disobedience, says that the allegation by the Church report is untrue. He claims that everyone, whether affected by Operation Murambatsvina or not, is being considered for housing. "People cannot have been living in thin air. They must be living somewhere." They are 'somewhere' - either in overcrowded houses, or living like animals in holes in the ground - that's where they are!

• "Free & Fair" Yengeni Jailed For Corruption TBM speaks: "Tony Yengeyi, a disgraced ANC heavyweight, who most Zimbabweans would love to hate for declaring the fraudulent 2000 parliamentary elections in Zimbabwean as 'free and fair' was last week sent to jail for four years for fraud." What does that say about the 2000 election which is largely believed to have been rigged by Mugabe? "The Zimbabwe Refugees Forum Chairman, Tawanda Mswazi, described Yengeni's imprisonment as "free and fair." "If Yengeni had any sense of justice, he would have realized that hundreds of Zimbabweans who were raped, tortured, murdered and cheated by Zanu (PF) in 2000 elections, were being subjected to injustice," said Mswazi. Funny how those who see no wrong in a variety of events end up eating their words and spending time incarcerated for their misdoings.

• Mugabe Orders Probe Into Police Torture Deaths TBM speaks: According to this report, Mugabe is not very happy with Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri, who has already ignored an order to report to him on the deaths. Mugabe has given Chihuri until the end of September to investigate the issue and report back. "Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Monday this week ordered Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri to conduct a "full inquiry" into allegations of torture during police training which had resulted in the death of several officers, authoritative sources told ZimOnline." Mugabe would not have become involved if he had not been petitioned by recruit officers. "...Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi, under whose portfolio the police falls, flatly refused to discuss the matter. "No comment on that one. Please, phone Chihuri," Mohadi said, before switching off his phone."

'debvhu