After 3 days of counting still no official results have been released. Is he trying to fix the results to hold onto power or is he just hoping no one will notice.

 

With inflation running at 100,000% the highest in the world can Zimbabwe survive if he clings to power?

tbh im surprised its got this far...... thought it was a done deal that he would win...

I think the delay in announcing the results is a sign of how large the vote against Mugabe was. If it was close, they would have been more confident that they would get away with rigging the vote again. But with maybe 60% voting against him, that will be more difficult. For the first time, I'm actually starting to think we might be about to see the end of this tyrant.

i hope he gives up power hes a vile man!

he might be ready to go, he might be tired of failing the country. hes driven it into a right mess and now perhaps realises he cant get out of it.

as Britain seems rather too fond of invading countries and overthrowing dictators... surely Mugabe is the one we should've gotten rid of? After all, it's he has thrown thousands of British farmers off their land, stolen their houses, emptied their bank accounts - then asked for money for doing it (this happened to someone I know!).

Apparently opposition offices are being raided tonight and 2 foreign journalists have also been arrested. I fear this will not end peacefully. He's a dictator. Dictator's never give up power easily.

 

I could be wrong but unless there is a civil war and he's overthrown I can't see him being ousted. I do hope I'm wrong though. He needs to go. For Zimbabwe's sake. :cry:

Apparently opposition offices are being raided tonight and 2 foreign journalists have also been arrested. I fear this will not end peacefully. He's a dictator. Dictator's never give up power easily.

 

I could be wrong but unless there is a civil war and he's overthrown I can't see him being ousted. I do hope I'm wrong though. He needs to go. For Zimbabwe's sake. :cry:

 

The cynic/pessimist in me thinks you are spot on. :cry:

 

 

well...

 

after 2 weeks without officially announcing the results (votes cast) mugabes lot are contesting 19 of the seats.... asking for a re-count. they only need 9 seats to retain power...

 

DONT YOU JUST KNOW WHAT THE RESULT OF THIS RE-COUNT WILL BE? <_<

 

as one journo put it on news 24, " how can you have a re-count when you dont know what the number of votes cast were"?...

 

and that t*** in south aftrica tarbo nbeki (or however its spelt) is clearly colluding with mugabe on this...

 

sometimes i think 'white rule' wasnt such a bad thing..... considering the state of zimbabwe now.

Indeed. If you want to be a dictator then be a dictator - then you can enjoy all those lovely UN sanctions and end up being killed in a military coup. Oh, you don't want that? Then f*** off then you conniving arsehole - release the results and step down while you still have a shred of dignity.

and that t*** in south aftrica tarbo nbeki (or however its spelt) is clearly colluding with mugabe on this...

 

sometimes i think 'white rule' wasnt such a bad thing..... considering the state of zimbabwe now.

 

The cover of the new "Private Eye" is pretty funny - A photo of Mugabe and Nbeki - Mugabe says "I'll resign as long as I can keep my job", to which Nbeki replies "Whatever you say boss..". :lol: :lol:

 

There is no doubt that Mugabe has certainly become a tyrant, BUT, I feel he was made this way.. And we shouldn't forget the role played by our very own Maggie Thatcher and the Tory Govt in this whole sorry affair..

 

For YEARS Mugabe demanded Land Reform from the British Govt in Zimbabwe, for YEARS, the Govt kept fobbing him and the War Veterans off with bullsh!t... It should NEVER have gotten to the stage where Zimbabwe now finds itself - if there had been proper land reform from the get-go, then things would've ended up a lot better for everyone concerned, and perhaps the current deep crises would not have afflicted that country... The British Govt broke its promises and it got to the stage where either Mugabe had to take the land by force, or he would probably have been overthrown in a coup (okay, perhaps not such a bad thing with hindsight, and it was probably what the British Govt wanted anyway...).

 

To somehow suggest white rule "wasn't a bad thing after all" is just ridiculous, you CANNOT have a white minority lording it over a black majority in Zimbabwe any more than you could in South Africa, that statement is also a rather lame apology for Imperialism... The facts are we fukked up that country by not educating the people to the extent where they could run their own affairs.. Africa is in deep crisis all over because of European interferance, and the fact that we did not allow a strong civil infrastructure to develop.. We developed armies, but somehow managed to forget about actually educating people and making sure they could manage the country on their own... The development of strong armies and weak civil infrastructures is at the very heart of Africa's problems, and it is almost entirely of our (European) making...

 

The cover of the new "Private Eye" is pretty funny - A photo of Mugabe and Nbeki - Mugabe says "I'll resign as long as I can keep my job", to which Nbeki replies "Whatever you say boss..". :lol: :lol:

 

There is no doubt that Mugabe has certainly become a tyrant, BUT, I feel he was made this way.. And we shouldn't forget the role played by our very own Maggie Thatcher and the Tory Govt in this whole sorry affair..

 

For YEARS Mugabe demanded Land Reform from the British Govt in Zimbabwe, for YEARS, the Govt kept fobbing him and the War Veterans off with bullsh!t... It should NEVER have gotten to the stage where Zimbabwe now finds itself - if there had been proper land reform from the get-go, then things would've ended up a lot better for everyone concerned, and perhaps the current deep crises would not have afflicted that country... The British Govt broke its promises and it got to the stage where either Mugabe had to take the land by force, or he would probably have been overthrown in a coup (okay, perhaps not such a bad thing with hindsight, and it was probably what the British Govt wanted anyway...).

 

To somehow suggest white rule "wasn't a bad thing after all" is just ridiculous, you CANNOT have a white minority lording it over a black majority in Zimbabwe any more than you could in South Africa, that statement is also a rather lame apology for Imperialism... The facts are we fukked up that country by not educating the people to the extent where they could run their own affairs.. Africa is in deep crisis all over because of European interferance, and the fact that we did not allow a strong civil infrastructure to develop.. We developed armies, but somehow managed to forget about actually educating people and making sure they could manage the country on their own... The development of strong armies and weak civil infrastructures is at the very heart of Africa's problems, and it is almost entirely of our (European) making...

 

The Right honourable Tony Wedgewood Benn "Mugabe is a great leader and a good & honourable man" (BBC Panorama 1987) :rolleyes:

 

When Zimbabwe gained independence (in 1980) it was the second wealthiest economy in Africa (behind Nigeria). However, I don't think it is an understatement to say it has gone backwards due to the one eyed fascist dictatorship from Robert Mugabe. Who is most definitely IMHO the flip/evil side of Nelson Mandela.

 

Just a few facts to think about:

 

In 1980 Average life expectancy was 64 years; In 2006 Life expectancy was 37 for males & 34 years for females, the lowest such figures for any nation.

 

In 1980 Child illiteracy was at 49 per 100 children (at the age of 14 - better than the UK in 1980!); In 2006 it stands at 359 per 1000.

To quote the Catholic Archbishop of Zimbabwe Pius Ncube (2007) decried the educational situation in the country, saying, among other scathing indictments of Mugabe, "We had the best education in Africa and now our schools are closing."

 

Throughout his 27 year rule Robert Mugabe has systematically gone about removing his opposition by means of assassination; torture of political opponents & journalists; banning and firebombing rivals properties.

 

He has ethnically cleansed the Ndebele region of Zimbabwe. "The early rain washes away the chaff" he joked about the killing of 20,000+ innocent citizens in the Ndebele provinces of Matabeleland and the Midlands from 1982 to the late 1987.

 

On July 3, 2004 a report adopted by the African Union executive council, which comprises foreign ministers of the 53 member states, criticized the government for the arrest and torture of opposition members of parliament and human rights lawyers, the arrest of journalists, the stifling of freedom of expression and clampdowns on other civil liberties.

 

In 2005 Mugabe ordered a raid conducted on what the government termed "illegal shelters" in Harare, resulting in 10,000 urban poor being left homeless from "Operation Murambatsvina (English: Operation Drive Out the Rubbish)." The authorities themselves had moved the poor inhabitants to the area in 1992, telling them not to build permanent homes and that their new homes were temporary, leading the inhabitants to build their own temporary shelters out of cardboard and wood. Since the inhabitants of the shantytowns overwhelmingly supported the Movement for Democratic Change opposition party in the previous election, many alleged that the mass bulldozing was politically motivated. The UK's Daily Telegraph noted that Mugabe's "latest palace," in the style of a pagoda, was located a mile from the destroyed shelters. The UN released a report stating that the actions of Mugabe resulted in the loss of home or livelihood for more than 700,000 Zimbabweans and negatively affected 2.4 million more.

 

He is also reckoned to have syphoned off $225 million (in US dollar terms) of Zimbabwe's GDP to Swiss accounts; whilst spending an average of 11% of the Zimbabwe GDP on military items to enable him to force his iron will on the country whilst Zimbabwe's inflation rate spirals out of control. It exceeds 100,000% as of April 2008. It stood at 4.7% when he came to power in 1980.

 

He has also made Homosexuality illegal in this country where it carries a death penalty for being actively carried out:

in 1995 He told an audience that "homosexuality degrades human dignity. It's unnatural and there is no question ever of allowing these people to behave worse than dogs and pigs. If dogs and pigs do not do it, why must human beings? We have our own culture, and we must re-dedicate ourselves to our traditional values that make us human beings... What we are being persuaded to accept is sub-animal behaviour and we will never allow it here. If you see people parading themselves as lesbians and gays, arrest them and hand them over to the police!"

In 1995 he even made it a jailable offence for a Zimbabwean to know a homosexual and not do anything about reporting it to the police.

 

But most offensively, On 12 to 13 February 2000, a referendum was held on a new constitution. The proposed change would have limited future presidents to two terms, but as it was not retroactive, Mugabe could have stood for another two terms. It also would have made his government and military officials immune from prosecution for any illegal acts committed while in office. In addition, it allowed the government to confiscate white-owned land for redistribution to black farmers without compensation. The motion failed with 55% of participants against the referendum. The referendum had a 20% turnout fuelled by an effective SMS campaign. Mugabe declared that he would "abide by the will of the people". The vote was a surprise to ZANU-PF, and an embarrassment before parliamentary elections due in mid-April. Almost immediately, self-styled "war veterans", led by Chenjerai 'Hitler' Hunzvi, began invading white-owned farms. On April 6, 2000, Parliament pushed through an amendment, taken word for word from the draft constitution that was rejected by voters, allowing the seizure of white-owned farmlands without due reimbursement or payment.

 

Since these actions, agricultural production has plummeted seven-fold within just six years and the economy is crippled. Once the "bread basket" of southern Africa and a major agricultural exporter, Zimbabwe now depends on food programs and support from outside to feed its population. A third of the population depends on food supplies from the World Food Programme to avoid starvation.

 

Yet he had the audacity to accuse former British Prime Minister Tony Blair of using chemical weapons (So that is where those Weapons of Mass Destruction went to :lol:) to incite droughts and famines in Africa.

 

But hey maybe Scott agrees with Robert Mugabe. :)

09:25 GMT, Friday, 18 April 2008 10:25 UK

BBC World News

Zimbabwe victim: 'I wailed in pain'

 

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44579000/jpg/_44579510_a33efd9a-36e3-4a61-a09d-f3fe973eb6de.jpg

Zimbabwean shopkeeper Tendai is being treated in private clinic in the capital, Harare, after being beaten up and tortured a week ago.

 

As the country awaits the results of presidential elections held on 29 March, he was accused of being a supporter of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

He told the BBC about his ordeal. We have changed his name for his own safety.

 

They stormed into my shop I was renting, around 2100 [1900 GMT] on 11th April - I was fast asleep when a loud bang on the door woke me up.

To my horror a group of about 40 Zanu-PF [ruling party] supporters had broken in.

Everything took me by surprise. The beatings began.

I was operating the business in Mashonaland East province, a Zanu-PF stronghold.

For years I have battled to keep my business afloat, given the economic hardships.

It's difficult to source basic commodities and villagers, with their meagre earnings, can't buy much to survive.

I am only 22 years old, but had already ventured into private business at my tender age as I only went as far as 'O' level education.

The shop serviced the rural community well and I never imagined that one day my usual customers would be overcome by greed.

But Zanu-PF militias, in political anger, turned against my business.

That day, when they got into my bedroom, inside the shopping complex, I was beaten all over my body with logs, iron bars and clenched fists.

I could hardly identify them, everything was happening under the cover of darkness.

They shouted that I was a good-for-nothing MDC activist, out to effect a regime change.

They even doubted that I could run a shop, given my age.

They said I got the money from the MDC, through its British sponsors. Of course, that's not true.

After being subjected to thorough beatings that lasted until the early hours of the morning, something that I never imagined took place.

That was a sad ghastly side of human nature. I want to believe for now, it never happened.

They took dry grass from nearby, burnt it, and placed my hands above the flame for about three minutes.

I wailed, howled in pain, and many in the surrounding homesteads could hear my voice.

But they could do nothing to help.

The war veterans are gods, feared in the villages.

The situation is on edge in the whole constituency.

After burning my hands and back, I fainted.

They broke all the windows at the shop and ransacked it. I lost everything.

But this is the same shop that's been supporting them with basic food commodities all these years. It's like biting the hand that fed them.

 

Here we are suffering, being tortured, for making a political choice someone believes is wrong

They left me lying helpless, beside my shop. Broken windows, a terrible remainder of my broken existence.

I experienced an indescribable pain. Luckily I am still single. My children should not have witnessed this horror.

The police came early morning and took me to the closest hospital.

There were hardly any drugs, just a few painkillers, the nurses told us.

MDC officials then came and offered emergency vehicles to take us to Harare.

I can't sleep, and I always have nightmares. I'm in deep pain.

I always wonder if I will ever operate my business again. I also doubt if I will ever set foot in the area again.

Where will I get the money to start my business all over again? It bothers me a lot.

'Forgive and forget?'

They may use violence, but the people have memories.

It will take time for us to forgive and forget.

 

We always wonder why our government turned against its own people.

Twenty-eight years after independence, it seemed unimaginable these things would ever happen.

But here we are suffering, being tortured, for making a political choice someone believes is wrong.

But the [election] campaigns had been peaceful.

I believe the establishment is generating more enemies than friends because of these indiscriminate acts of violence: history will judge some of these people harshly.

They should take a hard look in the mirror.

If it was me subjecting my tormentors' children in this brutal fashion, how would they feel in their sleep?

They need to interrogate themselves because history repeats itself.

 

 

Zimbabwe arms ship quits S Africa

BBC News

Saturday, 19 April 2008 06:11 UK

 

Reports say the ship is carrying millions of rounds of ammunition ordered by the Zimbabwe government three days after the election took place.

 

A Chinese ship carrying arms destined for Zimbabwe has been forced to leave the South African port of Durban four days after failing to unload.

Earlier, a South African judge ruled that the cargo of rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds and ammunition could not be transported overland.

Human rights groups had petitioned for a block on the arms and dockers had refused to unload the shipment.

 

Some fear Zimbabwe will use the arms to repress political opposition.

The country has yet to publish the results of its presidential election on 29 March, which the MDC opposition says was won outright by its candidate Morgan Tsvangirai.

President Robert Mugabe denounced the opposition on Friday in his first speech since the election, saying "thieves" were trying to steal the country.

 

Incommunicado

 

According to the South African news agency Sapa, the ship upped anchor between 1800 (1600 GMT) and 1900 (1700 GMT).

 

The ship's master, who earlier identified himself as Captain Sunaijun, could not be reached by telephone, the agency added, quoting anonymous sources.

The transponder aboard the An Yue Jiang was not responding on Friday evening, the BBC's Adam Mynott reports from Durban.

 

The head of an independent human rights group monitoring the vessel said it was heading for Mozambique, en route to landlocked Zimbabwe.

Nicole Fritz, director of the Southern Africa Litigation Center, said her group aimed to pursue the issue with Mozambique.

Her group had called for the blocking of a permit allowing the arms to be offloaded from the An Yue Jiang and transported.

South Africa's government had said it could not legally prevent the arms being transported through the country but the high court in Durban ruled that the cargo could not be moved overland, though it could be discharged in the port.

'Nothing to do with us'

 

The ship contains three million rounds of ammunition for AK-47s, 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades and several thousand mortar rounds, according to South Africa's Mail and Guardian newspaper.

 

The weapons are packed in large red and blue containers piled high on the ship's decks.

There are Chinese crew on board and the ship is flying both the Chinese and South African flags, our correspondent said after going to look at the ship anchored 18km (11 miles) from the entrance to Durban harbour.

 

The Mail and Guardian reports that a subsidiary of a state-owned South African company, Armscor, was approached to handle the transport of the weapons after several private companies refused to handle the cargo due to its sensitivity.

South African Defence Secretary January Masilela said the country's National Conventional Arms Control Committee had given approval for the transit of the weapons.

 

"If the buyer is the Zimbabwean sovereign government and the seller is the Chinese sovereign government, South Africa has nothing to do with that," he said.

Mr Masilela added that there was no United Nations or African Union embargo on weapons sales to Zimbabwe.

Speaking in New York, South African President Thabo Mbeki echoed his defence secretary's comments.

Several Western countries have banned arms shipments to Zimbabwe, as has the European Union.

'Military regime'

 

With continuing tension in Zimbabwe over the failure of the authorities to issue results from the presidential election three weeks ago, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) said it would be "grossly irresponsible" to allow the cargo through.

"The South African government cannot be seen as propping up a military regime," said Satawu General Secretary Randall Howard.

 

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said the weapons were not needed because Zimbabwe was not at war.

Zimbabwean Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga insisted no country had the right to stop the arms entering his country.

For its part, China says the shipment is part of normal trade relations with Zimbabwe, adding that "one of the most important principles is not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries".

 

Talk about a news story killing two birds with one stone. Are you disgusted or not by China's & Zimbabwe's government's action with this arm shipment?

The Right honourable Tony Wedgewood Benn "Mugabe is a great leader and a good & honourable man" (BBC Panorama 1987) :rolleyes:

And in 1994, John Major's government gave him a knighthood

The Right honourable Tony Wedgewood Benn "Mugabe is a great leader and a good & honourable man" (BBC Panorama 1987)

 

but in all fairness back then he wasnt seen as the monster he is now, i very much doubt tony benn would say that now!

I hear the Zimbabwean Elections Commission has contacted ITV to ask them to conduct the second round by phone vote.

But hey maybe Scott agrees with Robert Mugabe. :)

 

So, to oppose imperialistic minority white rule (which had to go, it was as indefensible and amoral in Zimbabwe as it was in South Africa...) and criticise The Tory Govt's own Govt's culpability in the sh!t that ultimately occurred in Zimbabwe is somehow me "supporting" Mugabe is it...? It wouldn't have mattered if it had been a Mugabe or Ghandi who got rid of white rule, the Tories would still have mucked the Zimbabwean people about over land reform, let's face it....

 

You're not half a prat sometimes Rich....

 

Mugabe's a pig of a man.

 

A guy I know lived in Zimbabwe, had lived there for years, on his farm with his family, and with a second business, a bed and breakfast in the city. They'd built these businesses from nothing.

 

He decided to pack up the farm when his neighbours started disappearing.

 

Mugabe's lot 'reclaimed' his farm AND bed and breakfast, and virtually emptied their bank accounts. His workers were abused and beaten to pulps...and for the privelige of all this, Mugabe even CHARGED them 'handover fees' for the land and other business.

 

 

They returned to Britain 4 years ago - after borrowing money from relatives to get home.

 

Whatever people think of Peter Tatchell, he seems to be the only foreigner with the balls to try to do something about this evil bast*rd - remember him being punched to the ground whilst trying to make a citizens arrest of Mugabe in the Hague?

 

I'd like to see Mugabe AND his tatty little bunch of cohorts in the 80s (Thatcher included) hauled in the dock.

Mugabe's a pig of a man.

 

A guy I know lived in Zimbabwe, had lived there for years, on his farm with his family, and with a second business, a bed and breakfast in the city. They'd built these businesses from nothing.

 

To be fair Russ, the Colonialists didn't exactly enter into negotiations with the Zimbabweans to fairly "purchase" the land off them in the first place - they took it at the point of a sword, and killed anyone who got in their way.... In that sense, I don't really have a lot of sympathy for the white colonialists or ex-pats who go out to these sorts of underdeveloped countries purely to exploit the locals, well, not any more than I would sympathise with the Zionist "settlers" on Palestinian land. To me, it's as bad as those Brit call centres who go off and set up in Bangladesh or India cos the wage costs are cheaper.. I mean why go to Zimbabwe..? Couldn't they build up a business here...? Nah, cheaper to exploit black African workers, profit off their labour, and pay them a sh!t wage I suppose innit....?

 

Mugabe is a bad guy and I hope he is overthrown, but I dont really have a lot of sympathy for Colonialists when alls said and done, sorry mate....