Posted on 12/05/2001 12:08:25 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Zimbabwe's top court has declared the government's plan to seize white-owned farms legal, overturning its own previous ruling that the seizures were unconstitutional.
In a judgment released Tuesday, four of the five Supreme Court justices appointed to hear the new seizure case said they were satisfied the government's "fast track" land nationalization program was lawful and "sufficiently complied" with the constitution.
Last year's Supreme Court ruling declared the government's methods of land seizures illegal and in breach of constitutional ownership rights and government land laws.
Some of the judges who made that ruling have been replaced in recent months.
Four of the five judges hearing the new case, including Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, were appointed recently by President Robert Mugabe. Those four voted to uphold the government's land seizure program.
The Supreme Court traditionally had only five judges until Mugabe expanded the bench to eight in July, adding three judges considered loyal to the ruling party. The chief justice usually appoints small panels of judges to hear each case.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has described the court's expansion as a political ploy designed to turn the court into a government puppet.
Armed ruling party militants have occupied more than 1,700 white-owned farms since March 2000, demanding they be redistributed to landless blacks. The government has listed some 4,500 properties -- about 95 percent of farm land owned by whites -- for nationalization without compensation and last month warned about 800 farmers they had three months to vacate their land and homes.
Monday's court ruling rejected white farmers' assertions that the land seizures were taking place amid violence and a breakdown of law and order in farming districts.
It said the government had met the previous court's order to prove it had restored law and order and a sustainable land reform program in those districts.
Though it was not disputed that clashes took place on farms, "by definition, the concept of rule of law foresees a situation in which behavior prescribed as criminal will occur. The presence of the rule of law does not mean a totally crime free environment," the court said.
Adrian de Bourbon, the lawyer for the Commercial Farmers Union, had asked Chidyausiku and two other new appointees to recuse themselves from the hearing, alleging they had shown open allegiance to the ruling party and its land seizures.
None of the judges stepped down.
Monday's ruling described de Bourbon's request as "unbridled arrogance and insolence."
"This is the first and last time such contempt of this court will go unpunished," it said.
A spokesman for the union said farmers were surprised and disappointed by the decision.
"The ruling does not seem to be based on the strict application of the law or the rules of natural justice, but on a political argument," the spokesman said.
"We are obviously surprised and shocked by this because this is the highest court. But we hope the government will still find the wisdom to be reasonable," he said.
Judges have been under mounting pressure from the government and ruling party militants. Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay was forced out after the government warned him and other judges they would not be protected from ruling party militants, who stormed the Supreme Court last December.
The resolution advocates missions to Zimbabwe by UN special rapporteurs on torture, freedom of expression, on the independence of judges and lawyers, on extra-judicial executions and on violence against women.
"The Commission urges the government of Zimbabwe to fully cooperate with all relevant mechanisms ... including by inviting them to visit the country," according to the draft.
The text also expresses concern at "the continuing violations of human rights and attacks on fundamental freedoms, often committed with impunity by agencies and supporters of the Zimbabwean ruling party".
The text which was formally submitted to the secretariat was labelled an "Advance Unedited Version", allowing changes by the EU before a vote, according to UN spokeswoman Veronique Taveau.
Diplomats and human rights groups said there were behind-the-scenes attempts to gain crucial support for the resolution from the African group in the Commission, which is currently led by Nigeria.
"We are just hoping that the African group take it in the spirit of Zimbabawe's engagement in the process and don't try to block it," said Catherine Turner of Amnesty International.
"It's important for the credibility of the Commission, in particular support from countries like Nigeria, which was engaged in sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the Commonwealth, it should take the same principled stand here," she added.***
Well, as before in other instances, they will want the US to send humanitarian aid paid for by American citizens tax monies.
Maybe we could set up an "exchange" program.
Ummm...a freeper exchange program?
I think that people can accept just about anything as long as their basic needs are taken care of in one manner or another. Communism will work in a fashion as long as there are others they can feed off.
They are like parasites and they need a host. When they can no longer find a host, they will die. A group of communists in a society can live as long as they can find someone, i.e. a welfare program, to support them.
When they take over a nation, they no longer have hosts on the national level. Then they need an international organization like the UN to sustain them. I have to wonder if that is not one of the purposes of the UN.
This is exactly the purpose of the UN. Even now they and the Red Cross are refusing to condemn Mugabe's terror campaign, content instead to set up camps across the borders to accept those fleeing the country. They're in the business of misery and a miserable country is ripe for communism. Once that transformation is complete, there's nothing to be concerned about.
There is always resistance to change, but resistence lessens as the people get use to the changes.
How many people were eliminated in Mother Russia before the revolution was complete? It was the same thing in China and elsewhere. The creme of the population has to be eliminated first, and what is left is the compliant and complacent portion.
They seem to have a special purpose in Africa. They presided over the destruction of South Africa, and they leave alone other communist takeovers there. The US also was involved in the destruction of South Africa, and I don't see the US condemning such events in Africa. Maybe, I have missed something?
That will never happen. And probably, bringing the whites from Africa to America will never happen. But that is what I was suggesting.
___________________________________________________________
Zimbabwe -- Zanu PF officials' wives worry over sanctions***While Zanu PF officials who have been included on the list of persons banned from travelling to the United States and western Europe have dismissed the personal sanctions as irrelevant, some of their spouses are crying foul, saying the move will adversely affect them and their families. The targeted sanctions affect Zanu PF officials, their spouses and children, and this is what has irked women who were interviewed by The Standard. The women said the move was particularly unfair as it would affect their children who are studying overseas. Most government ministers and senior Zanu PF officials have kids studying overseas.***
__________________________________________________________________
Zimbabwe -- US travel ban unfair, says businessman***A prominent Zimbabwean businessman, who found himself on the receiving end of US "targeted sanctions" because of close ties to President Robert Mugabe, took out a full-page advertisement in the state-owned media yesterday in protest against the US move. Mutumwa Mawere, who owns mining, manufacturing and banking concerns, took a swipe at US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter Kansteiner for including him on the list of the Zimbabwean elite slapped with a travel ban by the US government. The list includes Mugabe, cabinet ministers, senior government and ruling Zanu PF officials, businessmen linked to Mugabe and his allies and Zanu PF's property aristocracy.***
Sullivan said Harare had to "recognise the absolute criticality of a free and fair elections to its continued legitimacy as a democracy within the international community". An election that accurately reflected the wishes of the Zimbabwean people "could set the stage for international assistance aimed at Zimbabwe's economic recovery, including resolution of the long-standing land issue", he said. "Conversely, failure to hold a free and fair election would have serious consequences for the international standing of Zimbabwe and its leaders."
Sullivan promised support for Zimbabwe's "dynamic civil society" and said he would lobby for the deployment of election observers from the start of campaigning. He would support the independent media "in every way possible".
Tipped to succeed Sullivan in Luanda is Christopher Dell, previously chief of the US mission in Pristina, Kosovo. He called US relations with the MPLA government "positive and no longer clouded by distrust". Angola was "increasingly important to our energy security", Dell said, noting it supplied 3,5% of US imports, and 7% from nations which, like itself, are not members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Meanwhile, In Wellington, New Zealand, Phil Goff, the new foreign minister, said yesterday he had ticked off Zimbabwe's new diplomatic representative, Florence Chitauro, over the Mugabe regime's record on human rights. Goff told parliament:
"I raised the undermining of the independence of the judiciary and the press, the attacks on lawyers representing political parties or political representatives in court, threats against diplomatic missions and international aid agencies and continued intimidation and violence against those opposed to President Mugabe's regime." [End]
____________________________________________________
April 17, 2002- American political analyst barred from entering Zimbabwe***HARARE, Zimbabwe - An American co-director of an international political research group was barred entry to Zimbabwe on Wednesday. John Prendergast, co-director for Africa of the Belgium-based International Crisis Group, canceled meetings with associates in Harare in a brief call from the Harare airport. Prendergast, a member of the National Security Council with responsibilities for Africa during the Clinton administration, said he was being deported after arriving from neighboring South Africa, associates said.***
___________________________________________________
Only Sanctions can stop Mugabe-John Prendergast - Sunday October 28, 2001- The Observer [Full Text] President Robert Mugabe can't believe his luck. At the beginning of September, he faced humiliating public criticism and an ultimatum for the first time from fellow African leaders.
A special delegation of Commonwealth foreign ministers meeting in the Nigerian capital Abuja secured Mr Mugabe's commitment to upholding Commonwealth principles of democracy and restoring the rule of law. South African Development Commission (SADC) leaders had also given Mr Mugabe four weeks to address the land crisis or face isolation.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) loomed in early October, with Zimbabwe possibly facing suspension. The European Union and the United States had also threatened moves against Zimbabwe. Then, on 11 September, the attacks in the United States blew the steady diplomatic march on Zimbabwe off the map. CHOGM was postponed until next year, and Mugabe now believes, quite rightly, that the world's attention is focussed elsewhere.
In the past two months, there has been no evidence at all that Mr Mugabe or leaders of his ZANU-PF party have tried to implement the Abuja agreement, nor has he done anything to satisfy the concerns of his SADC colleagues. Since Abuja, more farms have been invaded and burned, and farm workers beaten and threatened. On 12 October the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, was ambushed by armed men while driving to a political meeting. Most disturbing are new reports that weapons and ammunition are being brought to Zimbabwe from the Congo, where Zimbabwe's armed forces have been fighting on behalf of Kabila. Many of these weapons are expected to end up in the hands of ZANU-PF supporters in the lead up to the presidential election next year.
The presidential election is the primary reason for the current political violence in Zimbabwe. It is dressed up by the government as a campaign for land reform - but in fact the land campaign is a vehicle for political intimidation of the opposition and the disenfranchisement of thousands of black voters. Shifting several dozen white farmers from their properties will do little in the end to alter the balance of power in Zimbabwe. Evicting tens of thousands of black farm workers from their constituencies is shaping up as a key tactic for ZANU-PF in its efforts to retain the presidency in 2002. ZANU-PF has already lost in the cities - senior party officials readily admit they cannot win in Harare and Bulawayo - so keeping control of the rural vote has become all the more important.
The international community must therefore maintain a very tight focus on ensuring that the 2002 elections are free and fair. It should begin by putting much more concerted and coordinated pressure on Mr Mugabe to end the political violence, admit international election monitors and allow the opposition a voice. As he has shown no sign of living up to any personal commitments he has given so far, that international pressure should be reinforced by personal sanctions. Rhetorical pressure, demands and threats have had no impact thus far on Mugabe's calculations. Specific actions like targeted sanctions, however, may be a different story, as the government's abuses begin to have specific ramifications for those responsible.
The International Crisis Group has detailed these 'smart' sanctions in its recent reports on Zimbabwe: a freeze on overseas held-assets, personal travel restrictions and visa bans on President Mugabe, senior ZANU-PF figures, and their families. The people of Zimbabwe have suffered enough; they do not deserve to suffer the effects of broader sanctions or further cuts to aid. Direct personal pressure is the only method that may finally make Mr Mugabe live up to the commitments he has given.
The next few days are crucial. A return delegation of Commonwealth ministers has just visited Zimbabwe to assess progress on the Abuja agreement. Britain has already indicated it believes the deal has not been honoured, although whether it will take action is not clear. On 29 October, the European Union's Foreign Ministers meet, with Zimbabwe on the agenda. It is not a priority - the war on terrorism understandably still preoccupies Europe, as it does the United States.
But the ministers are deeply concerned about Zimbabwe's refusal to allow EU election monitors to enter the country and are likely to further suspend economic aid. They may also consider imposing personal sanctions on the ZANU-PF leadership in future. But if this strategy is to succeed, personal, targeted sanctions must be part of the package and other governments must adopt them as well. understood to be considering the imposition of targeted sanctions as outlined above.
This strategy should be encouraged, and adopted by other governments if it is to succeed. SADC should act to isolate Mugabe who has blatantly failed to meet its one-month deadline for action. Commonwealth nations, while not meeting at heads of government level until early March next year, should impose their own sanctions on a bilateral basis. The United States should take similar action, either through Congress passing the Zimbabwe Democracy Act, or by an executive order of the President.
There is no more time to waste in Zimbabwe. Apart from the horrific violence, hyperinflation has set in and the economy is shrinking by as much as 8 per cent per year. Officially, the rate of inflation in September was 83 per cent, but anecdotal evidence from market traders in Harare suggests the real rate for basic commodities is more like 300 per cent. One US dollar buys 55 Zimbabwe dollars at official rates, 350 on the black market. Hungry Zimbabweans are stealing produce from farms across the border in South Africa to sell at market, or simply to survive. Many are now living on one meal a day, when they used to have three. In an effort to curb inflation, the government has fixed food prices, but these may simply drive more businesses into bankruptcy, and more people into unemployment.
There are hints that the Commonwealth may want to give Mr Mugabe and his government more time to implement the Abuja agreement before imposing sanctions. But there is already ample evidence that the Abuja deal is dead. It would be a great disservice to the people of Zimbabwe and Southern Africa if, at this crucial time, the world really did keep looking the other way. [End]
·John Prendergast is Co-Director of the Africa Program at the International Crisis Group.
April 17, 2002 (AP)U.S. announces ban on transfer of defense supplies to Zimbabwe [Full Text] WASHINGTON - The State Department accused Zimbabwe of subverting the democratic process and imposed a ban Wednesday on the transfer of U.S. defense articles to that southern African country. Spokesman Philip Reeker said applications for licenses no longer will be approved, and a suspension is being imposed on previously granted licenses. He said about dlrs 3 million worth of contracts will be affected.
Reeker said the government of Zimbabwe conducted a "fatally flawed" presidential election last month in which President Robert Mugabe was declared the winner. Earlier, the administration announced that visas would be denied to certain Zimbabwean political leaders, and any bank accounts they may have in the United States would be frozen. [End]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.