(August 10, 2002) AP -
Zimbabwe Threatens White Farmers***Ignatius Chombo, the powerful local government minister, said: "All the excuses by the farmers show what an arrogant and racist bunch they are. It shows they want to derail the land redistribution program by any means ... they will not succeed," according to the state-run Herald newspaper Saturday.
Chombo said "appropriate measures" would be taken against farmers breaking the law.
Vice President Simon Muzenda warned that authorities would act firmly against farmers opposing the "irreversible" land program.
"You are told by government what we want done ... and you simply do that," he told state radio Saturday.
The evictions deadline came as half of Zimbabwe's 12.5 million people face a severe hunger crisis, according to the World Food Program. The WFP blames the crisis on drought combined with the agricultural chaos caused by the seizures of commercial farms, which are mainly owned by whites.
The government has targeted 95 percent of white-owned farms for seizure.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department on Saturday denounced Zimbabwe's attempt to evict the farmers and thousands of farm workers as "a reckless and reprehensible act."***
Will the United Nations stand up for the famers? Probably not. Expect next Friday's headlines to read "2900 Zimbabwe Farmers and Families Executed".
Assuming that Zimbabwe actually pays any attention, the best case is that the evictions are delayed for a few months.
But it also prolongs the uncertainty.
No farming will be done as the order is really in favour of the mortgagees, not the farmers and they are still prevented from continuing farming operations.
So the winter crop does not get brought in and the summer crop does not get planted.
All food shortage estimates are for the period up to the summer harvest.
But there will be no harvests, either the current winter or the coming summer.
Crunch time in Zim.