Posted on 08/09/2002 1:55:20 AM PDT by sarcasm
HARARE (Reuters) - Hundreds of white Zimbabwean farmers seemed to have abandoned their farms by a midnight government deadline on Thursday, but many said they were biding their time in case they had a chance to return.
Farmers' spokesmen said at least half were thought to have moved off their farms, many choosing the relative safety of towns rather than defy President Robert Mugabe's order to hand land over to poor black settlers or face jail.
The disruption to farming in Zimbabwe, once southern Africa's bread-basket, comes as millions in the region face famine.
``Decisions were being made community by community,'' Jenni Williams, spokeswoman for newly formed farmers' group Justice for Agriculture (JAG), told Reuters when asked how far farmers were heeding the government's demands.
On Friday, Williams said JAG officials were on hand to give support to farmers who could run into problems with the law, but had not received any distress calls. Zimbabwe police were not immediately available to say if there had been any problems.
Mugabe gave 2,900 of the country's 4,500 or so white farmers a 90-day deadline in May to surrender their land or face a fine and up to two years in prison as part of his two-year-old land reform program to resettle landless blacks.
Dozens of trucks laden with household goods trundled into the capital Harare from farming districts as farmers withdrew from their properties to towns and cities ahead of a Sunday holiday the ruling party traditionally uses to rally support.
Zimbabwe celebrates Heroes Day on August 11, a public holiday held mainly to commemorate those that fought in the country's 1970s independence war against Britain in which Mugabe was a prominent fighter. The day is often marred by violence.
Last year's commemorations coincided with violent looting on white-owned farms around the northern town of Chinhoyi by pro-government militants.
LANDMARK COURT RULING
Some farmers have said they might return to their land after the holiday if they feel it is safe to do so. Many already have black settlers on their farms and it was feared some might use force to evict farm owners as the deadline expired.
Land owners were also waiting to see how Mugabe would react to a High Court ruling earlier this week that the state could not confiscate land owned by one particular farmer because it had not told the bank, which had a mortgage over the property.
Neither Mugabe nor any other government official has commented on the court ruling.
Zimbabwe's official Herald newspaper said on Friday the land issue was a political rather than legal issue, and that farmers would only reap confrontation by fighting the government's land redistribution program.
In an editorial, the Herald -- whose views normally reflect government thinking -- hit out at JAG, saying it represented the views of farmers of British descent who considered themselves superior to everybody else and who should be asked to leave Africa.
It said the ``British farmers'' in Zimbabwe were determined to hang on to large tracts of territory while blacks went without land, and had undermined efforts by white farmers of Afrikaner origin to negotiate solutions with the government.
``Let it be made clear to them once and for all -- they have a choice to shape up or ship out,'' the newspaper said. ``Zimbabwe now needs people who want to see a success of this country and not saboteurs who will gloat on the failures of Africa.''
Nice touch. Good propaganda. Won't feed a single soul, however...
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IMO, Africa is spinning into a death spiral-- AIDS on the one hand, corrupt, murderous, and utterly imcompetent governments on the other.
"Pity about Africa..."
You guessed it. Land.
Won't happen, but the results would be the same. This is akin to giving a toddler a running chain saw.
Zimbabwe is going to starve itself, but by gawd they'll see to it that blacks have some land, you betcha.
"James Lewis, get away from that pasture!
You knows you doesn't know nothin' 'bout dirt!!"
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