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Thread: Tsvangirai fighting for his life, claims MDC

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Tsvangirai fighting for his life, claims MDC

    Harare - Zimbabwe's High Court on Monday ordered police to allow lawyers access to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who was said to be "in bad shape" after suffering head injuries while in police custody.

    Police detained Tsvangirai and dozens of other opposition figures on Sunday and killed a man while breaking up a prayer meeting organised in defiance of a ban on political rallies, and rights groups alleged he and other politicians were tortured.
    full story from IOL here

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    SA: Zim must solve its own problems

    Zimbabwe's problems should be solved by the people of that country, the South African Foreign Affairs Department said on Tuesday.

    "We have constantly maintained that the solutions to the problems of Zimbabwe will be resolved by the people of Zimbabwe," spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said.

    Mamoepa was speaking two days after it was reported that police had arrested and assaulted Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who was among a number of people who tried to hold a protest prayer meeting in Harare on Sunday. One protester was shot dead by police and scores of others were arrested.

    Mamoepa said the department had noted the current development and was monitoring the situation very closely.

    "Whatever matters of mutual concern exist, the government will raise this through existing bilateral mutual mechanisms that exist between South Africa and Zimbabwe," he said.

    The South African government has been criticised for its "quiet diplomacy" towards Zimbabwe under the repressive rule of President Robert Mugabe.

    Meanwhile, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) condemned in the "strongest possible terms" the violence in Zimbabwe and South Africa's response to it. Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said Mamoepa's response was "shamefully weak".

    "Such a response is disgraceful in the face of such massive attacks on democracy and human rights, especially coming from those who owed so much to international solidarity when South Africans were fighting for democracy and human rights against the apartheid regime," Craven said.

    He said the murder of Gift Tandare, the youth chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly, and the arrest and alleged beating and torture of Tsvangirai and other leaders of the opposition are clear proof that the government in Zimbabwe will stop at nothing to crush the resistance of the people.

    "We call upon the governments of South Africa and the rest of the continent to condemn the Zimbabwe government, demand the immediate release of those arrested and the restoration of human rights," he said.
    full story from M&G here

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    A very simple thought goes through my mind: If ever in South Africa I found myself in the position that Morgan Tsvangirai and so many others in Zimbabwe now find themselves in, I would hope some good neighbour would make a serious attempt to come to my rescue.

    Here are some snippets from this story on M&G.
    "The ANC is concerned about the current situation in Zimbabwe, including reports of the alleged assault of opposition leaders while in police custody," party spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said in a statement.

    The ANC trusted that a thorough investigation would be conducted into these allegations, and that any necessary action be taken in accordance with the law.
    However, DA spokesperson Douglas Gibson was more forthright.

    "For South Africa to opine that Zimbabwe must 'observe the rule of law' is like telling criminals the same thing and expecting them to behave.

    "These actions remind us of the worst days of apartheid repression and the South African government should be ashamed of its limp-wristed and meek response."
    In another statement, the human rights committee of the General Council of the Bar of South Africa said it was most concerned about the further erosion of human rights in Zimbabwe.

    The concern related not only to the institutionalised brutality under the guise of law enforcement that resulted in a duly elected representative of the people and a MP being beaten, and which necessitated an urgent application to court to ensure that graver harm did not befall him.

    "It is also evident that the beating of a public figure sends a chilling message to ordinary citizens who wish to raise their voices in peaceful protest against a regime that does not subscribe to democratic values.

    "We are witnessing a people being denied their basic freedom of expression," the committee said.

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    And now we have escalation...
    Zimbabwe accused opposition supporters on Thursday of waging a militia-style campaign of violence against the government, amid rising world condemnation of President Robert Mugabe's latest crackdown on dissent.

    Police officials said three officers had been badly hurt in a petrol-bomb attack in the capital, Harare, late on Tuesday, telling state media the opposition's "orgy of violence was spreading" in the Southern African nation.

    "These actions are synchronised by people with resources and are happening throughout the country," police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena said.
    full story from M&G here
    You've just got to love the Aussie response - from the same article:
    Australia called on African countries to support tougher action against Zimbabwe. "The fact is the situation in Zimbabwe is going from awful to catastrophic," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told Australian radio.

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    just me duncan drennan's Avatar
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    I really feel that this statement by Christopher Dell (American ambassador to Zim) says a lot,

    "I don't think we need to do much more to put economic pressure on the government because it seems to be doing a damn fine job of ruining its own economy," said Dell. "Let me put it this way, the government is applying much more effective sanctions on itself than the outside world could ever hope to craft and impose."

    Makumbe said powerful businessmen allied with the ruling party know their businesses cannot survive the economic freefall. While they may like Mugabe, they can't afford to support him.

    From "Mugabe fights for political life" on M&G Online
    Mugabe is just no longer financially viable. Further,

    "While Mugabe is in office, the economy is not going to recover. Mugabe is a liability to the national economy and his opponents know it," said Makumbe.

    Dell said the collapsing economy has helped cause splits within the security services.

    "The fact is that, over the last 27 years, the government there has ruled mostly by a combination of repression and patronage. As the economy evaporates from under the government, the ability to distribute largesse, to distribute patronage, disappears and the ability to support the security services disappears," said Dell.
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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    "The fact is that, over the last 27 years, the government there has ruled mostly by a combination of repression and patronage. As the economy evaporates from under the government, the ability to distribute largesse, to distribute patronage, disappears and the ability to support the security services disappears," said Dell.
    Some of this rings bells of warning locally. OK. Let's cross out repression. I don't think we have too much of a problem there. We might flirt with manipulation but so far well short of repression.

    But largesse and patronage are words that are already appearing in critical commentary.

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    just me duncan drennan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave A View Post
    Some of this rings bells of warning locally. OK. Let's cross out repression. I don't think we have too much of a problem there. We might flirt with manipulation but so far well short of repression.

    But largesse and patronage are words that are already appearing in critical commentary.
    I tend to draw parallels with the apartheid government, rather than the current one - and then can't understand how the current government can allow neighbours to apply the same repression under which they suffered.

    But that's just me.
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    Silver Member Graeme's Avatar
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    If the international banking industry cuts him off, he's finished.

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