Zimbabwe -- Farmers now wait for Mugabe's speech

Reuters via SABC News (SA) ^ | August 10, 2002

[Clive]

Thousands of white Zimbabwean farmers threatened with eviction from their land faced an anxious weekend in limbo as they looked to a keynote speech by President Robert Mugabe to determine their future. Many of the farmers, ordered to leave their properties by midnight Thursday without compensation, clung to the hope that a last-minute High Court action may give them extra time and ward off black resettlement.

But Mugabe, expected to expound the government's standpoint in a speech early next week, has consistently argued the land seizures right the wrongs of British colonialism, which left 70% of the best farmland in white hands. Independent analysts say the state- backed farm invasions have crippled the country's agriculture sector - once known as southern Africa's bread-basket - compounding severe food shortages nationally and accelerating a growing famine.

Vice-President Simon Muzenda warned farmers in an interview on state television on Friday night not to defy the government and resist orders to leave. "The country belongs to us, to the people here," Muzenda said. "You are told by government what we want done...and you simply do that." Vice-President Joseph Msika, who chairs the cabinet committee on land acquisition, told state television those who refused to obey the orders would live to regret it. "Those who are not going to work within the laws of Zimbabwe have nobody to blame but themselves. The law will take its own course. It's simple and straightforward," he said.

There have been no reports of action by authorities, violence or evictions since the midnight deadline expired. Mugabe is expected to clarify the government's position on the farms in a speech marking Heroes Day, which mainly commemorates those who fought in the 1970s independence war against white rule in the former Rhodesia. It was unclear whether he would make the address on Sunday, the actual anniversary, or Monday, the national holiday. Last year's commemoration was marked by violent looting of farms around the northern town of Chinhoyi by pro-government militants and some farmers fear a repeat. - Reuters

[Clive]

It would be a great mistake to rely on anything in Mugabe's speech. the situation on the ground is always different from what the government holds it out to be.

Relying on court orders has also proven to be a mistake. The government obeys only those orders with which it agrees or it obeys as an exercise in damage control.

[Clive]

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