Sunday, 12th July 2009

Howzit

I could swear but I won't.

We all know that Mugabe has big problems with the existence of the MDC in government.

"President Robert Mugabe admitted Saturday his ZANU PF party still differed on policy matters with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), his partners in the current inclusive government.

Mugabe said the MDC was too friendly to the Western governments in the process failing to realise the West still had a hidden agenda to recolonise Zimbabwe. "Now it is not a fight with the gun. It is a fight to get properly united and that is why we are saying lets be one," he said."

Mugabe is getting quite boring with the idea that Zimbabwe will be recolonised. Why on earth would the West want to recolonise the country - especially since it is in ruins following the last three decades (decayed?) of Mugabe's destructive rule?

"Mugabe was addressing mourners at the burial of the late PF ZAPU member, Ackim Matthew Ndlovu who died last week at the age of 77 through illness and was declared a national hero by the ZANU PF politburo. The burial ceremony was boycotted by the two MDC parties."

Mugabe asks if the country is unified... No, it is not. Primarily because ZANU PF force the issues if they don't get their own way. People are arrested, beaten, tortured, incarcerated and even murdered in the name of ZANU PF.

The Zimbabwean people are sick of it and they do not want Mugabe or ZANU PF to lead them or represent them...

"Are we truly one in the inclusive government? Are we united? Let’s show that we are united and speak with one voice," Mugabe said, "the voice of the Zimbabwe that is free; a voice that no longer seeks the support of oppressors.

"Those who oppressed us yesterday cannot be our friends today. And we have got to learn that.

"They may talk sweet language to us but deep down they have a deep-seated grievance. Let’s not humiliate ourselves any further."

Which would suggest that ZANU PF should not be the friend of Zimbabweans as they have oppressed the population.

Mugabe goes on to state that he has friends that are prepared to help Zimbabwe rather than dictate conditions to aid - if that is the case, why does he daily complain and whinge about the West wanting more reforms before releasing aid?

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Mugabe will not be happy unless he holds the trump card and has the ability to have the last word.

In the article above, he claims that he has friends that will help him - he has already stated that any money raised in the East will be for his party, not the country - but he insisted on firing yet another salvo at the West.

"Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has criticised the West for imposing conditions on aid to his troubled nation.

Mr Mugabe has called on members of the unity government to speak up on the aid issue and show their commitment to the country. The unity government was formed earlier this year, with Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangarai taking the positions of president and prime minister.

Mr Mugabe lashed out at Western nations on Saturday, saying Zimbabwe would not humiliate itself any further by agreeing to Western demands for further political reforms in return for aid."

I find it of double standards that Mugabe can daily hand out criticism to the West, but that no one - repeat no one - can say anything negative about him, his party or what he has done to the country.

"The government has only had limited success in lifting Zimbabwe out of its deep economic crisis marked by years of food shortages and hyperinflation. The progress has been hindered by internal disputes and lack of support from Western nations, who have pledged support but said they wanted to see more progress."

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The unity government is in disarray. Mugabe continues to rule as a dictator, Mutambara is slowly shifting his MDC faction closer and closer to Mugabe's way of thinking and Tsvangirai has been taken to task by his faction for not being assertive enough...

"The MDC-T national executive on Friday took Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to task for failing to stand up to President Robert Mugabe whom they accused of violating the Global Political Agreement (GPA), sources said yesterday.

The sources said Tsvangirai was also accused of remaining "aloof" as the 85-year-old leader in power since 1980 continued to flout provisions of the agreement that led to the formation of the unity government in February.

Another bone of contention, the sources said, was Tsvangirai’s continued silence as Mugabe increasingly claims that he is both head of state and government despite the power-sharing arrangement. The state media, which has not changed its pro-Mugabe stance, also refers to Mugabe as head of both state and government."

Very simply put, there can never be a unity government whilst one person continues to work unilaterally and ignore the other party/factions in the government.

Whilst I have high praise for the MDC for even taking their leader to task and allowing the media to know the score, until and unless Mugabe/ZANU PF stands by the signature of their leader, the unity of any government will be in question.

"They have a right to express their views and this shows deep-rooted levels of democracy in the party," Maridadi said. "It (national executive) shows that it does not tell the Prime Minister what he wants to hear but the situation on the ground. "This is what the Prime Minister has been fighting for - democracy."

As things stand right now, the election results mean nothing. ZANU PF lost and continues in power, whilst the MDC won and struggles to be integrated within the inclusive body.

"On Mugabe’s claim to be both head of state and government, Maridadi said the President’s role was clearly spelt out in the GPA. He said Tsvangirai is head of government while Mugabe is head of state.

"If you look at the functions, he (Tsvangirai) becomes head of government. He formulates and implements government policy and this makes him the head of government," Maridadi said.

Turning to accusations that Tsvangirai glossed over Zimbabwe’s problems on his recent trip abroad, Maridadi said Tsvangirai was quoted out of context on the issue of farm invasions and the breakdown in the rule of law.

"The Prime Minister is very clear on the issue of rule of law and farm invasions," he said. "He does not tolerate all these. He is concerned about the on-going selective application of the law, farm disruptions and continued harassment of MPs from his party," Maridadi said."

This is just semantics. Arguing over who is what when nothing is being done on the ground means absolutely nothing to the voters. I don't care if Mugabe calls himself the king of Zimbabwe - what matters is the return of law and order, and the improvement of life in Zimbabwe.

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Mugabe doesn't like to be told what to do - by anyone. Especially if it is something within Zimbabwe - even though it is overseen by an international body.

Diamonds in the Eastern Highlands are manna from Heaven for Mugabe. And even if he has to kill people in his endeavour to take control of the diamond fields, then so be it. Sadly, any resources he uses are public - but work entirely for his own personal wealth.

The Marange/Chiadzwa diamond fields have been systemically stripped of the valuable stone by Mugabe and his bigwigs.

The value of the stones in the fields could easily rebuild Zimbabwe many times over, but Mugabe prefers that the money is in his numerous bank accounts.

"A confidential memo by the head of a delegation of the Kimberley Process, which recently wrapped up an investigation into the reports of violence and killings in Marange, has detailed the 'horrific violence' used by the army against civilians there.

The Kimberley Process, a scheme tasked with halting the trade in 'blood diamonds', sent the delegation to investigate Zimbabwe's 'compliance' with international diamond trade standards.

Their visit came days after a Human Rights Watch report detailed the ongoing human rights abuses at the Marange diamond fields, which in turn followed numerous accounts of abuse and killings there. Accounts from survivors of the military onslaught at Marange detailed the killings, speaking of machine-gun attacks by helicopter and armed attacks by troops on the ground. Civilians in the region also reported that anyone attempting to enter the area was arrested and often tortured and killed.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights have said that about 5,000 people were arrested during the army operation, with three quarters of them showing signs of having been tortured severely. Government officials have repeatedly and adamantly denied state-sponsored violence at the diamond fields. Mining Minister Obert Mpofu earlier this year, at the start of a separate Kimberley Process mission in March, said the accounts of killings were fabrications.

Most recently, his Deputy Murisi Zwizwai told a meeting of the Kimberly Process in Namibia two weeks ago that no killings had taken place.

The MDC minister's comments have since landed him in hot water with his party, who last week said his comments were 'inaccurate'."

I have repeatedly asked where the money for the diamonds has gone. The army have refused to withdraw and the biggest diamond heist in recent years carries on right under our noses - and we are virtually powerless to stop it.

"In his confidential memo handed over to government officials and which has also been made available to The New York Times, the Kimberley Process team's leader, Kpandel Fayia, told Zimbabwean officials that he was so disturbed by the testimonies of victims that he had to leave as they spoke.

"Our team was able to interview and document the stories of victims, observe their wounds, scars from dog bites and batons, tears, and ongoing psychological trauma," said the memo by Fayia, a deputy minister of the ministry that oversees mining in Liberia."

How do you stop a whirlwind, a hurricane? How does one stop the Mugabe-ites from stealing the country's mineral resources, whilst Mugabe accuses the West of wishing to recolonise the country and rob exactly what he is already stealing?

"Government officials have said they would 'try' to comply with the Kimberly Process standards before the team issued its final report.

Deputy Mining Minister Zwizwai was quoted as saying that Zimbabwe had agreed to remove soldiers from the fields "in phases while proper security settings would be put in place."

But while Zimbabwe could face being removed from the Kimberley Process as a result of the delegation's findings, it appears the human rights violations in Marange could be swept under the rug. The delegation has recommended a temporary suspension in Zimbabwe diamond trading.

But Susanne Emond from Partnership Africa Canada (PAC), an organisation that has been campaigning for the end of conflict fuelled by the blood diamond trade, explained to SW Radio Africa that the Kimberley Process, as a regulatory body, "doesn't have a specific language when dealing with human rights." She said that one of the few tools that the Process has is the suspension of a participating country from the body, therefore preventing the country from trading in diamonds all together.

"This suspension would normally be enough to force a participant to comply with their standards," Emond said. "But it is unacceptable that a country says it is applying the laws while killing people."

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Take care.

'debvhu