BY STAFF REPORTER
HARARE
American presidential hopeful Barack Obama has urged Zanu (PF)’s military junta to call off its brutal campaign against the Zimbabwean people.
In a statement, Senator Obama said he was deeply concerned by the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe.
“Instead of the change that the people of Zimbabwe voted for, we’ve seen opposition and civil society offices raided, opposition supporters sent to torture camps, and communities turned into no-go zones while the ruling party unleashes brutality without restraint,” he said.
“The United States must join with the international community in responding decisively to this crisis. There should be an international arms embargo on Zimbabwe to deny the government tools that it could use to target its own people.”
He added that it was time for the international community to stand united in making it clear to Mugabe that a fraudulent run-off election was unacceptable.
“The US must standready to support efforts to hold the perpetrators of human rights abuses accountable for their actions,” said Obama.
Regime rattled by mood at UN
BY CHIEF REPORTER
HARARE
Robert Mugabe’s military junta may be talking tough in the face of rising international pressure, but political analysts say its senior members are showing signs of worry over their future.
Many are taking seriously threats being made by superpowers such as America and Britain and want to distance themselves from Mugabe and his coup against the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
In private, Zanu (PF) officials were seriously rattled by the discussion of the Zimbabwe crisis at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday. Usually this is a harbinger of international action against errant regimes.
“There is a sense of panic when you talk to some of these people,” said Ronald Shumba, a political commentator.
“For all their rhetoric, some of these people will be so vulnerable,” he said. “The best way for some of them is to negotiate, but some are also worried that abandoning their current strategy could lead to loss of power.”
Trade exhibitors left stranded
BY PINDAI DUBE
BULAWAYO
Scores of exhibitors who were at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) were left stranded in the city after failing to secure cheap fuel from the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM), promised to them by ZITF management.
Small and medium enterprises that were exhibiting at the fair said they had taken part on the understanding that ZITF was going to facilitate cheap fuel for them from NOCZIM, but the fuel was never provided.
Some of the exhibitors were still stuck at the ZITF grounds two days after the show ended and were making frantic efforts to secure fuel.
“When I came from Harare…I was made to understand that a special fuel arrangement for exhibitors had been put in place by ZITF management, but we got nothing. I have run out of fuel and I am told the black market fuel has been raised up to $800m for five litres,” said Edmore Foroma, the Managing Director of a Harare-based sanitary wear manufacturing company.
“Right now, I am in the process of disposing of all my goods so that I can raise money to buy fuel.”
No comment could be obtained from ZITF General Manager Daniel Chigaru as he was said to be in meetings.
Meanwhile, scores of boarding school children were also stranded on Monday in the area as they failed to get transport to their schools. Most bus operators failed to provide buses for the schoolchildren due to the critical fuel shortage facing motorists after the ban on imports by the Botswana government.
Fuel shortages also hit the Zimbabwe Prison Services (ZPS), a situation that has meant prisoners in the city have been escorted on foot to and from the courts.
Hollis praises quiet heroism
BY STAFF REPORTER
HARARE
The people of Zimbabwe have responded to “intense suffering” with “a dignified and quiet heroism”, an English bishop has said.
Bishop Crispian Hollis, Chairman of the International Affairs Department for the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, visited Zimbabwe earlier this year.
“What we saw there filled me with anguish and hope,” Bishop Hollis said. “The anguish was because of the desperate poverty of a people being systematically robbed and brutalised by their own government, resulting in that country, so rich in natural and human resources, being reduced to destitution.
“The hope that we experienced came from the extraordinary witness and courage of those we met. In the face of intense suffering, Zimbabweans have responded with a dignified and quiet heroism. Time and again, they have demonstrated their commitment to justice and democracy.”
He appealed for prayer for the country.
Threats force NGOs to scale down
More than 20 Zimbabwean non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have either suspended operations or scaled back because of harassment and intimidation by state security officials and war veterans supporting Zanu (PF), sources said.
NGOs under pressure include the Zimbabwe Peace Project and the Zimbabwe Election Support Network. Provincial organizations, including the Murehwa Community Trust and the Centre for Research and Development in Mutare have suspended their activities.
Advocacy and Communications Officer Fambai Ngirande of the National Association of Non-Governmental Organizations said they were receiving similar reports daily from groups that focus on civic education, human rights and humanitarian needs.
Service for Norman Reynolds
Norman Reynolds, a development economist and columnist for The Zimbabwean, who died last year, is to be remembered at a ceremony this summer.
Reynolds, whose work is being kept alive by The People’s Agenda Board in Johannesburg, will have his ashes interred at the Cape on July 20.
MDC launches new UK district
UK – History was made in Portsmouth, UK at the weekend when the first of five Movement for Democratic Change Districts was launched in the South West Province. All the active branches – Portsmouth, Bristol, Reading, Working, High Wycombe and Southampton – took part. The post of District Chair was won by Owen Muganda.
Post published in: News