Friday, 26th November 2010

Howzit

Foreign currency mid-rates updated...

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The weather here in Derby is not good. Last evening, when B and I caught a taxi to come home after our committee meeting, the temperature was -1,5 degrees C, whilst we have a snow forecast in place for today. Gee - what fun!

When it snows here in Derby, I have to be very careful and wear boots with adequate grip as a simple fall for me could undo a lot of the good that has been achieved under the surgeon's knife over the last ten years.

Snow in Derby in February 2009 - photo taken from the same
standpoint as the photos of the guti in Derby recently...

But I refuse to be a prisoner in my own home...

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It's probably way to early, but this is Gamu Nhengu's 2010 Christmas single...

Nhengu will be stating her case to remain in the UK, in a hearing in Glasgow, scheduled for today.

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Every day that I write about Zimbabwe, I am either writing about the same oppression and limitations that Mugabe imposes upon the people and the MDC, but this surely, is the most pathetic yet.

The above photograph was taken a couple of years ago and shows a policewoman saluting Morgan Tsvangirai, then the new Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.

Do the security chiefs in Zimbabwe not realise that when you salute a dignitary, you salute the position or the uniform, not the man?

"If a salute from the uniformed forces is a demonstration of where power lies, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was left in no doubt of his worth in Zimbabwe’s power sharing government.

Arriving for the 2011 budget statement by Tendai Biti at Parliament on Thursday, Tsvangirai was received by a female police officer who opened the door for him.

But almost immediately, the officer looked away as if attracted to something on the front passenger seat of the Prime Minister’s Mercedes.

Shortly after, however, the same officer, now with another female colleague, gives Vice President Joice Mujuru her undivided attention as she stands in salute.

Minutes later, President Robert Mugabe’s Mercedes limousine pulls in and the same officer opens the door and impeccably raises her hand to her cap.

A witness said: “It seemed like the officer had rehearsed her move with Tsvangirai. Her snub didn’t appear to register much with the Prime Minister who walked off and disappeared into the parliament building.”

When Tsvangirai agreed to share power with President Mugabe in September 2008, top military commanders and police chiefs vowed not to salute him.

Tsvangirai’s MDC party has pointed to the military’s stance as a sign that the armed forces have thrown their lot with Mugabe’s ZANU PF party."

If you were to think of it, not saluting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is a minor problem and, in the grand scheme of things, but ZANU PF choose to perpetrate the act, at the very least, to prove a point to themselves.

How childish!

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This is a very long article that looks at the idea that the pro-Mugabe SADC members are assisting in having Mugabe re-elected to office and then having his chosen successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, sworn into office.

As we are now more than aware of, SADC has done nothing to assist the plight of the Zimbabwean people, and have Mugabe's back...

"Zimbabwe is heading towards a full scale civil conflict as President Robert Mugabe deploys troops across the country to secure another hotly disputed re-election followed by the imposition of his all Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa as his successor as his successor, highly placed sources in the State Intelligence and the military revealed.

A member of the army stationed at the Zimbabwe Military Intelligence Directorate (MID) revealed to The Zimbabwean with supported communications documents marked 'Highly Classified' that the Zimbabwe National Army is on course for a full scale deployment across the country with their full combat equipment and order to carry out raids on innocent villagers."

As I stated not that long ago, during the Rhodesian bush war in the 1970s, the vast predominance of people killed were rural dwelling and employment members of the black population. Now, thirty years after 'independence' the vast predominance of people killed are, once again, members of the black Zimbabwean population.

Mugabe has not changed his target.

"The source said ZANU PF, with the assistances of South Africa's ruling party ANC and others regional SADC, States are involved in a plot to influence the influence of a requirement in the new Constitution which will see a sitting President retiring from office and his party nominatin his successor. A majority vote will then be passed in Parliament for the new President to take charge for the remainder of the term without calling for general elections.

Mugabe has reiterated that the country will go for elections before June next year to undo the ill-conceived power sharing agreement signed with the two MDC's in September 2008, but we can reveal that this is all according to the long process backed and crafted with the assistance of former South African President Thabo Mbeki."

The query I have, and I have asked this before, is that Mugabe says the coalition will finish in February 2011, and elections will take place by June. In those few months, who will be leading the country?

Mugabe? On who's say so?

"Mnangagwa, Mbeki, Mugabe and the army generals really know where this GPA thing is going," a ZANU PF central committee member has said in privacy. "You see they somehow control the process, because they conceived it way ahead of our partners in the inclusive government. Mnangagwa himself is using it for his own political calculations, that's why you hear talk of the elections and not surprising re-surgence of violence at these constitutional meetings. It's all meant to test the water and position ZANU PF for future victory."

A very long article, but certainly one worth reading.

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Why bother to place Mugabe and his cohorts on a travel ban list if they are allowed to attend meeting, summits and conferences within the countires that he is allegedly banned from?

Mugabe complains that the targeted sanction are really illegal economic sanctions, but that is total rubbish - and then, with the likes of the EU lifting the ban to allow him - no doubt accompanies by a bloated entoruage - to make an appearance at their summit?

And then compound the problem by giving Mugabe the floor!

"Robert Mugabe will attend a high-profile EU-Africa summit despite a travel ban on the Zimbabwe President.

Mr Mugabe will join senior EU political figures, including European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and African Heads of State, at the gathering in Tripoli, Libya on November 29-30.

Amongst the issues to be discussed will be 'good governance'.

Mr Mugabe, 86, and his aides are currently subject to travel bans and asset freezes in the European Union and the United States who accuse his regime of denials of basic freedoms and his presence at the summit has been condemned as "appalling".

In 2002, the EU imposed targeted sanctions, including travel bans to EU territory and an arms embargo, on Mr Mugabe and his ZANU PF party in direct response to the deterioration in the human rights and political climate of the country. Last year, these were extended for another 12 months although Mr Van Rompuy recently said the EU was ready to consider "fresh measures".

But the attendance of the 86-year-old dictator who has been accused of jailing and beating dissenters, threatens to overshadow the summit which will also focus on economic growth, investments and job creation.

UK Conservative MEP Geoffrey Van Orden, who has been personally banned by Mr Mugabe from entering Zimbabwe, said the EU should have pressed for Mr Mugabe to be banned from the summit."

I dispair. The EU, SADC and the UN continue to almost shepherd Mugabe through all obstacles, remove the limitations that they themselves have supposedly put in place... Why?

How is it that Mugabe, one of the most hated people on the face of this Earth, is permitted to travel without limitation to these summits?

"Mugabe has continued to trample on the rights of Zimbabwe's people, showed scant regard for the political agreement that he made with Morgan Tsvangirai, and has continued his global travels."

"Its not surprising so little progress has been made in bringing about change in countries like Zimbabwe. The African states receive such garbled signals from Brussels."

Mugabe makes allegations that the world is advocating for regime change - but continues to run Zimbabwe as if it were his own country, his own playground...

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I tend to agree with the legal minds on this. For Mnangagwa to state that regardless of the election results, ZANU PF will continue to rule in Zimbabwe, he must be treading on very thin ice.

"Zimbabwe’s influential civil society organisation, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CIZC) has described as treasonous a utterances by the minister of defence, Emmerson Mnangagwa over the weekend that ZANU PF will continue to rule even if they lose elections.

"Utterances made by the Minister of Justice, Emmerson Mnangagwa in Kwekwe over the weekend are shameful, treasonous and a subversion of the will of the people. Mnangagwa was was quoted as saying ZANU PF will continue in office regardless of any electoral outcome."

It would not be the first time that Mugabe's ZANU PF has stolen the mandate from the people of Zimbabwe. For the last thrity years they have done it - but this time around they are very open about the duplicity...

"The statements by the Minister of Defence are a reflection of the intentions of ZANU PF which has largely relied on 'calculated terror, error and psychological warfare' to maintain its three decade hold on power."

I doubt whether Mnangagwa will ever be brought to court for his transgressions. In fact, we will hear more and more of this from ZANU PF personalities as the election draws closer.

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Mnangagwa is not the only one within ZANU PF that is stating openly that a defeat in the polls will not be accepted.

"ZANU PF is poised to resoundingly win next year's elections and will never surrender Zimbabwe's hard-won sovereignty to sellouts, party chairman Simon Khaya Moyo has said.

Speaking at a fund-raising dinner in Harare on Wednesday to mobilise resources for the 11th ZANU PF National People’s Conference in Mutare next month, Khaya Moyo urged the party to vigorously prepare for the polls by revitalising its structures.

"Elections are coming, yes, and ZANU PF is winning the elections resoundingly," he said.

Khaya Moyo said there would be no imposition of candidates during primary elections to nominate those who will represent the party in the polls scheduled for mid-next year.

"I am going to stand in Plumtree for the primaries. If I lose I will support the winner.

"I hope we shall exercise maximum discipline and listen to the people...

"ZANU PF is an unstoppable machine. For those who are not ZANU PF as yet, it is not too late," he said."

How on Earth do these people sleep at night?

When ZANU PF talks of 'maximum discipline' it means the violence and intimidation will be revisited by the party...

What happened to the 'democracy' that Mugabe is always on about?

And what is it about ZANU PF that they associate an MDC win with the re-colonisation of Zimbabwe? Why would any country want to colonise a country which has gone to rack and ruin?

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Take care.

'debvhu