Zimbabwe -- Reign of terror

A campaign of tactical torture and random beatings ensures Robert Mugabe wins by a landslide. But, as Andy Malone reports, his victory is a defeat for Zimbabwe

Just before dawn, the reason why Robert Mugabe had closed Zimbabwe's borders became chillingly apparent. Caught in the death-white glare of our headlamps, a group of young men in green bomber jackets and polished boots were jogging along the side of the road. They were not soldiers, but they appeared to have been on a mission. When the sun rose a short time later, there was evidence that the young men had been busy that night. Coaxed from their hiding places, black Zimbabweans displayed their wounds and told harrowing stories of torture and death. March was the month when Mugabe's madness plunged his country into mayhem and terror. The men I saw on the road had been hired by the president to terrify the population into voting for him in elections later that month. These were the men Mugabe did not want the world to see, underlining why foreign journalists had been banned from Zimbabwe.

Dubbed the Talibobs, the youths were marauding through villages across the country, demanding to see the member- ship cards of Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party. Anyone without a card was beaten. Some were taken away to 're-education' camps, where they were forced to chant Mugabe's name throughout the night. A group of women I met at a safe house claimed they had been raped by the Talibobs; some were sexually assaulted by their fellow male captives, who were forced to do so or face another beating. Those reluctant to swear allegiance to Mugabe had their heads held down in buckets of water until they passed out. Some were 're-educated' for weeks, with regular beatings. Along with stealing ballot boxes and setting up torture camps to punish his opponents, Mugabe also used a new weapon against his people - food. The strategy was straightforward: areas where people voted for him received food, areas of opposition were not allowed any.

This was not what people thought would happen when Robert Mugabe was elected leader of Zimbabwe in 1980. After four years of war against Ian Smith's white minority rule, the former guerrilla was lauded at his state inauguration as a hero of the black liberation movement. More than two decades later, the former breadbasket of Africa, was on its knees. The president had decided to preside over the collapse of the economy, and the torture and starvation of his people, while he and his second wife Grace were helicoptered between their various mansions around the country. How did he manage to wreck Zimbabwe so quickly, and why? By falling prey to a common addiction among African dictators: greed. In 1999, he sent thousands of troops into Congo to plunder minerals and diamonds on behalf of his ruling elite. The troops were not paid. The drain on the country's resources was huge.The people grew restless.

Fearing disaster in the March elections, Mugabe decided to invoke memories of the revolution and put the blame on wealthy white farmers, who employed hundreds of thousands working the land. Through his Stasi-trained secret police, Mugabe sent in paid thugs to scare the farmers off their land. A handful were killed; hundreds fled. Foreign investment dried up, the economy collapsed, and unemployment and malnutrition soared. Mugabe 'won' the elections by a narrow majority. People voted for him for one reason: they might die if they refused to. Meanwhile, nine months later, he continues to torture and starve a terrified population, and the world continues to ignore Zimbabwe's cry for freedom.

A Land Reform Plan Falters in Zimbabwe - "…..The government must look after us." ***The British ended their support after complaints of corruption and cronyism in the land program began to emerge in the 1990's. In 1998, Western donors agreed yet again on a plan to finance land reform, but that plan collapsed. In recent years, Western governments have withdrawn all financial aid, aside from food, from Zimbabwe to protest the land seizures and the attacks on the political opposition. Several white farmers and dozens of black farm workers have been killed by government-backed militants, while thousands of other black farm workers have been evicted and left homeless. The government has also been criticized for giving prime land to prominent officials and political allies.

………….. In early December, a group of impoverished black farmers asked the authorities to allow a white farmer to stay on his land because he was providing them with water and helping them to plow their fields. Their request was denied. The white farmer was forced to leave and the black farmers were forced to consider their futures. Manase Machekano, a 35-year-old resettled farmer, said he was losing hope. "I wish to plant maize, ground nuts and cotton, but I don't have the seeds," said Mr. Machekano, who was wearing a President Mugabe T-shirt. "The seeds are not coming in time, and soon the season will be over."

Tane Zingwa, an old man with four oxen, also complained that assistance has been slow in coming. He has no fertilizer and few seeds. Soon, he will have no water. Still, he continues to put his faith in the government. "What will happen to us?" Mr. Zingwa said. "I don't know. It's up to the government. The government put us here. The government must look after us."***

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