Mugabe regime cracks down on press

Four journalists arrested as autocratic Mugabe prepares for elections.

Zimbabwe GlobalPost Correspondent
 December 5, 2011 06:00

Zimbabwean journalists are taking the heat again, as President Robert Mugabe clamps down on the press ahead of watershed elections next year.
Human rights lawyers and media freedom groups warn that the crackdown on the press is serious.
Police are increasingly using criminal defamation laws to arrest journalists from privately-owned newspapers for reporting on the business dealings of Mugabe's allies.
Will Robert Mugabe exit like Gaddafi?
On Dec. 2, plainclothes detectives swooped on Xolisani Ncube, a reporter with the Daily News and his editor Stanley Gama after the newspaper published a story claiming that Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo bragged about his wealth to a delegation of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The delegation was meeting the minister to discuss housing projects for the poor.
The two journalists were detained and questioned for more than eight hours before being released “while investigations continue.” Ncube, a young reporter fresh from college, was arrested in front of his visiting mother.
Two weeks earlier, police detained overnight two journalists from The Standard, a privately-owned weekly, for a story on the collapse of a medical insurance firm owned by Munyaradzi Kereke, a special advisor to central bank governor Gideon Gono.
All four journalists are being charged under criminal defamation laws that journalists' unions and lawyers say are being used to muzzle the media.
Alec Muchadehama, the lawyer representing the Daily News journalists, described the arrest as an abuse of the law to punish journalists who poke their noses into the affairs of Mugabe allies. He said that despite the coalition government with long-time rival Morgan Tsvangirai that was formed in February 2009, Mugabe remains in control of the security sector, including the police, which he is using against the press.

“It is a disturbing trend we are witnessing,” said Muchadehama, who is also a campaigner for media freedom. “Criminal defamation is becoming the new front in our war against media repression. Why lock up journalists in police cells on issues that are best solved using civil lawsuits?”
Nando's cancels its satirical ad about Robert Mugabe, "Last Dictator Standing."
Long tim opposition leader and now Mugabe coalition government partner, Morgan Tsvangirai and his party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party at the weekend said it “is worried by the continued arrests of journalists from the independent media with investigative journalism now being turned into a criminalized profession.”
Police spokesman Oliver Mandipaka defended the arrests. “It is just the law taking its course,” he said.
Police have arrested close to a dozen journalists in the past five months, mainly for covering stories deemed offensive to the Mugabe government.
Journalists from newspapers critical of Mugabe’s three-decade rule have been prey for state agents and pro-Mugabe militia since the year 2000 when a newly formed MDC posed a potent threat to Mugabe’s continued hold on power.
The Daily News has just started operations after having been banned in 2003, a time Mugabe and his allies publicly branded the paper an enemy. Its printing press had also just been bombed. Police have not yet arrested anyone for the bombing.
In its first months after it was formed in February 2009, the shaky coalition government brought a relative relaxation of Mugabe's control of the press that resulted in the licensing of several privately-owned newspapers to compete in a media market dominated by the state.
Mugabe, however, remains in direct control of broadcasting airwaves and sparked a row with Tsvangirai two weeks ago after the only independent radio licenses to be awarded since independence from Britain 1980 were given to Mugabe's backers.
Tensions are rising again in Zimbabwe as Mugabe pushes for elections in 2012 to break out of a coalition described by both partners as unworkable.
Tsvangirai says he will boycott elections if they are held before the implementation of democratic reforms to ensure a free and fair vote.
Ban lifted on Zimbabwe diamond exports
Heightened talk of elections has left journalists fearing for the worst.
“It all has to do with elections. Mugabe and his loyal police are finding more ways of silencing the media. Journalists in this country are at their most vulnerable when politicians begin talking of elections,” said Njabulo Ncube, chairman of the Zimbabwe chapter of the media freedom watchdog, the Media Institute of Southern Africa.
Mugabe, having just won a fresh endorsement to lead his party into the next elections, is holding Zanu-PF's annual conference this week to map out election strategies.
“It seems their strategy on the media is pretty clear. Journalists will have to be vigilant,” said Foster Dongozi, secretary-general of main journalists’ body, the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists.
International organizations such as the United States-based Freedom House say conditions for journalists have remained treacherous despite promises of reform at the inception of the coalition government.
The organization’s Freedom of the Press index for 2011 notes that the media landscape in Zimbabwe remains repressive, with "near-total government control of the broadcast sector, foot dragging on attempts to open new broadcast outlets, and continued legal and physical harassment of independent journalists.”

Global Witness Quits Kimberley Process Over Zimbabwe Diamonds

5th December 2011

Read a message from Global Witness Founding Director, Charmian Gooch
Lire le communiqué de presse en français
Global Witness today announced that it has left the Kimberley Process, the international certification scheme established to stop the trade in blood diamonds.
The Kimberley Process’s refusal to evolve and address the clear links between diamonds, violence and tyranny has rendered it increasingly outdated, said the group. Despite intensive efforts over many years by a coalition of NGOs, the scheme’s main flaws and loopholes have   not been fixed and most of the governments that run the scheme continue to show no interest in reform.
“Nearly nine years after the Kimberley Process was launched, the sad truth is that most consumers still cannot be sure where their diamonds come from, nor whether they are financing armed violence or abusive regimes” said Charmian Gooch, a Founding Director of Global Witness. “The scheme has failed three tests: it failed to deal with the trade in conflict diamonds from Côte d’Ivoire, was unwilling to take serious action in the face of blatant breaches of the rules over a number of years by Venezuela and has proved unwilling to stop diamonds fuelling corruption and violence in Zimbabwe. It has become an accomplice to diamond laundering – whereby dirty diamonds are mixed in with clean gems.”
In a shocking move, the Kimberley Process recently authorised exports from two companies operating in the controversial Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean army seized control of the area in 2008, killing around 200 miners. Mining concessions were then granted in legally questionable circumstances to several companies, some of them associated with senior figures in Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party. Newspapers have reported that the Zimbabwean Central Intelligence Organisation, the state security service aligned with Mugabe whose members are accused of committing acts of violence against opposition supporters, directly benefits from off-budget diamond revenues.
“Over the last decade, elections in Zimbabwe have been associated with the brutal intimidation of voters. Orchestrating this kind of violence costs a lot of money. As the country approaches another election there is a very high risk of Zanu PF hardliners employing these tactics once more and using Marange diamonds to foot the bill. The Kimberley Process’s refusal to confront this reality is an outrage,” Gooch continued.
“Consumers should not buy Marange diamonds, and industry should not supply them,” said Gooch. “All existing contracts in the Marange fields should be cancelled and retendered with terms of reference which reflect international best practice on revenue sharing, transparency, oversight by and protection of the affected communities.”
The diamond industry should be required to demonstrate that the diamonds it sells are not fuelling abuses – by complying with international standards on minerals supply chain controls, including independent third party audits and regular public disclosure. Governments must show leadership by putting these standards into law.
“Consumers have a right to know what they’re buying, and what was done to obtain it,” added Gooch. “The diamond industry must finally take responsibility for its supply chains and prove that the stones it sells are clean.”
/Ends
Contact:
Annie Dunnebacke: +44 7912 517 127; adunnebacke@globalwitness.org
Andrea Pattison: +44 7970 103 083; apattison@globalwitness.org

http://www.globalwitness.org/library/global-witness-leaves-kimberley-process-calls-diamond-trade-be-held-accountable

China supplying small arms to Zimbabwe

Written by defenceWeb
Monday, 14 November 2011 12:28 

Zimbabwe has taken delivery of 20 000 AK-47 assault rifles from China as the country re-equips its army ahead of upcoming elections.

The Southern Africa Report, which focuses on political and economic intelligence issues in Africa, reports that the Zimbabwe Defence Force (ZDF) has taken delivery of “the first of several consignments of Chinese small arms and equipment,” including AK-47 assault rifles, uniforms, a dozen trucks and 21 000 pairs of handcuffs.

The delivery apparently took place through an ‘African intermediary’ and a second consignment is due by the end of the year.
 
Read More;
http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21061:china-supplying-small-arms-to-zimbabwe&catid=50:Land&Itemid=105

http://www.southernafricareport.com/Member/SecurePages/SecureNews.aspx?niid=11805

Zimbabwe Parties, NGOs Hail Tough Sentence in Politically-Inspired Rape Case

Ntungamili Nkomo | Washington

Passing judgment against war veteran Gilbert Mavhenyengwa on Monday, Masvingo Magistrate Esther Muremba called him a “disrespectful thug” who took advantage of the volatile situation to rape a vulnerable woman.

Both formations of Zimbabwe's former opposition Movement for Democratic Change and civic organizations have hailed the sentencing of a ZANU-PF activist to 20 years in jail following his conviction for raping an MDC supporter during 2008 election violence.

Passing judgment against war veteran Gilbert Mavhenyengwa on Monday, Masvingo Magistrate Esther Muremba called him a “disrespectful thug” who took advantage of the volatile situation to rape a vulnerable woman, independent daily Newsday reported.

The magistrate also chastised Mavhenyegwa, who commanded a ZANU-PF militia base in Masvingo at the time, for not using a condom during the forced encounter, saying he had exposed the unnamed victim to the danger of contracting the AIDS virus.

Such judgments against perpetrators of the 2008 election violence are not common. A magistrate in Chitungwiza, a Harare satellite town, sentenced five ZANU-PF supporters to three years in jail in January for torturing MDC supporters during the elections.

But the 20 year sentence imposed on Mavhenyengwa caught public attention.

Spokesman Nhlanhla Dube of the MDC wing led by Industry Minister Welshman Ncube told VOA reporter Ntungamili Nkomo that his party is pleased with the sentence which he said would send a strong message to would-be offenders.

"We celebrate this judgment as a victory for a society that believes that political differences can never be settled through violent means," Dube said.

Those sentiments were echoed by deputy spokesperson Thabitha Khumalo of the MDC wing led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. She said all those who commit violence should be given similarly tough prison sentences.

But ZANU-PF parliamentary whip Joram Gumbo downplayed the significance of the case saying it was a criminal matter not linked politics or ZANU-PF.

"The issue has got nothing to do with political parties," Gumbo said. "It only has something to do with the person's behavior and character."

Programs Manager Pedzisai Ruhanya of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition commented that the sentence was just and commendable - but could have come sooner.

http://www.voanews.com/zimbabwe/news/Zimbabwe-Parties-Hail-Tough-Sentence-in-Political-Rape-Case-130216023.html

Women Human Rights Defenders to Unite at New York Global Summit

NEW YORK - September 15, 2011 -- Leading female human rights defenders from around the world are set to arrive in New York for a major summit organized to coincide with the annual opening of the United Nations General Assembly.

Mariane Pearl to appear at human rights summit in New York next week

We Have A Dream: Global Summit Against Persecution and Discrimination will highlight the centrality of women's struggles to the global human rights agenda when it convenes on September 21-22nd.
Women of Courage who will be presenting include the writer Mariane Pearl, wife of the Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl who was murdered by Al Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan in 2001, Rebiya Kadeer, the most prominent advocate for the rights of the Uyghur people in China, Grace Kwinjeh, the Zimbabwean journalist who survived the torture chambers of the Mugabe regime, Jacqueline Kasha, the outspoken advocate for LBT rights in Uganda, Tran Thuy, the Vietnamese writer and former political prisoner, and Marina Nemat, a leading Iranian writer and commentator.
The summit will also provide a unique insight into the horrific prison camp system of the North Korean regime through the first person testimony of Kim Hye Sook, who escaped from the Bukchang gulag.
"Women are the foundation of every family and every community. When a woman stands up to fight for her beliefs, entire families and communities are lifted up," said Mariane Pearl, who will be leading the summit's session entitled Women of Courage: The Struggle for Human Dignity. "By gathering these extraordinary women at our summit, many of whom have directly experienced the hell of imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture and genocide, we are sending a clear message that the right of women to live free from discrimination is non-negotiable."
"The rights of woman will be at the heart of the declaration which we will issue at the end of our summit," Ms. Pearl continued.

• The We Have A Dream Summit will take place on September 21-22 at the W Hotel, 541 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022.
• For more information and to register, please visit www.ngosummit.org.
• For interview requests, please contact our director of media relations, Ben Cohen, on 917 302 0194, or deputy director Lev Janashvili on 212 844 9290, email: secretariat@ngosummit.org.

Organized by an international coalition of human rights NGOs:

Zimbabwean lawyer wins Inamori Ethics prize

Andrew MeldrumSeptember 13, 2011 16:18

Lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa received the Inamori Prize for Ethics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Here Mtetwa, a lawyer who concentrates on human rights and press freedom, talks to the press outside the High Court in Harare on April 6, 2008. (Desmond Kwande/AFP/Getty Images)

 

 

Zimbabwean human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa is one of Africa's towering heroes for her principled and courageous battles to uphold the rule of law.

Mtetwa was awarded the 2011 Inamori Ethics Prize at Case Western Reserve University for her zealous defense of human rights and press freedom.
"I am optimistic that democracy and the rule of law will be restored in Zimbabwe," said Mtetwa in Cleveland, Ohio, for the prize-giving ceremony. "I abhor injustice and I fight it wherever I see it. I am driven to defend people who are struggling for their basic human rights. ... I am optimistic that the rule of law will be restored in Zimbabwe in my lifetime."

Mtetwa said she shared the honor of the Inamori Ethics Prize with "all the people out there who challenge the system knowing there are consequences and yet still do it."
"I come in after they have already exercised their rights," Mtetwa said to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "They are the brave ones for doing it. Without them I would have nobody to defend. I feel it is my duty to join them in the battle for basic democratic rights."

Mtetwa has earlier won awards from the Committee to Protect Journalists which presented her with the Burton Benjamin award for lifetime achievement in 2008 for her defense of journalists who had been arrested by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's regime. In 2009 Mtetwa won the Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize in France for her defense of human rights in Zimbabwe.
But Mtetwa's most notable awards are not the trophies and medallions that are given to her. I'm sure her most treasured awards are the freedom of the many journalists, politicians, human rights workers and ordinary Zimbabweans whom she has ably defended in court.
I am one of Mtetwa's devoted fans because she got me out of a Zimbabwean jail in May 2002 and she brilliantly won my acquittal when I was charged with "publishing a falsehood." If I had been found guilty I faced a sentence of two years in prison.

Mtetwa also successfully represented me in court when the Mugabe regime tried to deport me. After hearing Mtetwa's argument, the High Court ruled that I had the right to stay and work in Zimbabwe.
And in May, 2003, when Zimbabwe government agents illegally abducted me, held me captive and forced me on a plane out of the country, Mtetwa got a court order declaring those actions unlawful.
I am a beneficiary of Beatrice Mtetwa's dogged determination to make Zimbabwe's justice system uphold the rule of law. And I am in awe of her principled dedication to the law.

Mtetwa has also represented a number of foreign journalists including New York Times reporter Barry Bearak, after he was arrested and charged under an obsolete law requiring press accreditation. She has defended a number of Zimbabwean journalists and human rights workers.

Consider the story of Jestina Mukoko, a Zimbabwean human rights worker. Mukoko was abducted from her home before dawn in December 2008. Armed men took Mukoko away from her home, still in her nightgown and barefeet. Police said they had not arrested Mukoko and many feared that she would never be seen alive.
Mtetwa refused to give up in her search for Mukoko. She used a court order to force the state media to publicize Mukoko's case. The public responded by sending in reports that Mukoko had been seen at an army base. Mtetwa's persistence brought such attention to the case that Zimbabwean authorities were forced to release Jestina Mukoko. She had been so badly tortured that she needed immediate medical care.
Mukoko said she believes that her life was saved by Beatrice Mtetwa's efforts.

Mtetwa's career is dangerous. She has has received death threats and has been beaten twice by Zimbabwean police.
The mother of two said she learned to challenge authority as the eldest daughter in a large polygamous family in rural Swaziland. Mtetwa said she began challenging her father's authoritarian rules at an early age. Her defiance sometimes caused her to be beaten.
She said that she was determined to get a university education so that she could have an independent life and she encouraged her sisters to get university educations, too.
In the past few years, Mtetwa said despite being disliked, she's earned a measure of respect from many in the Zimbabwean police force.I can attest to that. When I was held by Zimbabwean police, my interogating officers often displayed an arrogant attitude and threatened me. But when Mtetwa came into the station, the officers snapped to attention and treated both of us with respect.

Mtetwa's shining reputation as a human rights lawyer has not come without cost. Many big corporate clients in Zimbabwe have stopped being represented by Mtetwa because they are fearful that the Mugabe regime will rule against them. Mtetwa has inspired a generation of Zimbabwean lawyers, both by her courtroom work and by leading the Zimbabwe Law Society. However, many other lawyers and activists have fled Zimbabwe.

"Those fighting are fewer and fewer and some of the few left are fearful because they don't know what will happen to them," said Mtetwa.

Mtetwa said that she is determined to be optimistic. She knows what Zimbabwe needs: an impartial judiciary, a professional and apolitical police force and army, a proper human rights commission and electoral body, and an independent attorney general.
"If we can get one or two of those things accomplished the rest will start to fall into line," she said.
When she received the Inamori ethics award, Mtetwa spoke to the hundreds of students who gathered at Severance Hall, the home of the Cleveland Orchestra.
"It is not what you make that counts," she said. "It is what difference you make that counts. It is the difference you can make with your life to make other people's lives better that is important."

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/africa-emerges/zimbabwean-lawyer-wins-inamori-ethics-prize

Summer Travel: Mugabe Style

Leslie Wayne

Associate Editor, 100Reporters.com

Summertime is travel time and no one is taking to the friendly skies more than Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president who has brought nothing but poverty and pain to his country.

In July, he was in New York, even though sanctions imposed by the United States do not allow him to enter the country. The loophole? The 87-year old Mugabe and an entourage that included his wife Grace, 46, various government officials and a phalanx of body guards (twelve in all) came to attend a youth conference at the United Nations. He was the only head of state at an event that brought together young people to discuss issues common to their age group. 

U.N.-sponsored events are fair game for Mugabe, as is anything at the Vatican and in other countries -- mainly in Asia -- that have not imposed the same travel sanctions that bar him from the U.S. and the European Union. This loophole is large enough to fly a 747 through and that is exactly what Mugabe has been doing, courtesy of Air Zimbabwe.

"He only comes on U.N. business,'' Nhamo Matambo, a spokesman for Zimbabwe's mission to the U.N. told 100Reporters. "It was a high level conference and people came to hear his views." Matambo declined to say where Mugabe stayed or what else he did in New York -- "it is not really a concern of the public."

Even so, it is hard to miss Mugabe. On the road, he likes to roll with his pack: His companions are often a 70-member delegation and his tastes are extravagant. Mugabe's travel expenses are running around $3 million a month and it's easy to see why. He's a regular at the "Langkawi Dialogue, '' a Malaysian conference where his stay in the Presidential Suite at the posh Berjaya Langkawi Beach & Spa -- which "embraces the emerald waters," according to its website -- costs over $1200 a night. 

The Daily News, a Zimbabwe newspaper, reports that Mugabe has spent more than $20 million on travel since January alone and Zimbabwe government officials from the opposition MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) party fear his travel expenses are on track to reach $50 million by year's end.

"The situation is out of hand,'' said Tendai Biti, an MDC member and finance minister in the country's divided government. "It's alarming. It's frightening. It's criminal." Biti said these lavish travel bills mean "you can't put that money either into health or education" and added that nothing tangible has resulted from Mr. Mugabe's globe-trekking.

While in New York, Mugabe used the U. N. conference as a chance to continue his portrayal of Zimbabwe as a victim of "neo-colonial machinations" through illegal sanctions and constant interference in the country's domestic affairs, according to an account of his remarks on the U.N. website. All that, he said, hurts the youth of his country.

Zimbabwe is hemorrhaging money and Mugabe's jaunts cause it to bleed even more. The country has outstanding debt totaling $9 billion and anticipates a budget shortfall this year of $700 million. The Daily News article that broke the travel story estimates Mugabe's 2011 travel budget could pay for six months of AIDS treatment for 600,000 Zimbaweans.

Mugabe traveled at least six times this year to Singapore -- at $3 million a pop. In January, he was off to Singapore on holiday and for an eye operation. He returned in February to correct the operation and needed a March visit, again, he said, because of his eyes. He has made several other trips there since.

He, Grace and a delegation, attended the Vatican beatification ceremonies last April for Pope John Paul II. Rome is popular on the Mugabe circuit: He attended the funeral of John Paul II in 2005 and any number of U.N. conferences in the Eternal City on such issues as food and agriculture -- both of which are in short supply in Zimbabwe, thanks to Mugabe's policies. 

The presence of his wife, Grace, raises hackles back in Harare. Grace's penchant for extravagant shopping sprees in the world's capitals has earned her such monikers as "Dis-Grace," "First Shopper" and "Grasping Grace." University of Zimbabwe political science professor John Makumbe saw the recent New York trip as a thinly-veiled opportunity for Grace to go shopping.

In an interview with SW Radio Africa, an independent radio station, Prof. Makumbe said Mugabe is always itching to jet away to "facilitate shopping" for Grace and replenish their supplies of luxury goods. There have been widespread press accounts of Grace's wholesale purchases of marble statues, handbags and gems and of her aides paying for hotel rooms with bags of cash. 

Of course, as with all travel, not everything goes smoothly. When Mugabe was in New York last year for the U.N. General Assembly, he decided to hit a decidedly down-scale Duane Reade drug store. While standing amid a display of blushers and lipsticks and looking intently, a New Yorker with family in Zimbabwe recognized him. According to an account in London's Daily Mail, the shopper began to shout at him: "Give the power to the people. Leave office gracefully. Do it for Zimbabwe."

A dozen of Mugabe's bodyguards swooped down on the protester and bundled him outside while Mugabe, after waiting for the coast to clear, scurried into a waiting limousine.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leslie-wayne/mugabe-travel-expenses_b_945523.html

MUGABE PREACHES PEACE AND HINTS AT ELECTIONS AS ZANU PF SUPPORTERS ASSAULT COUNCILLOR AND JOURNALIST

President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday 6 September 2011 preached peace for the second time in less than one month but the conduct of some of his supporters left his sincerity questionable.

Supporters of President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party on Tuesday assaulted a Harare City Councillor, Victor Chifodya and a freelance journalist, Henry Chimbiri as the octogenarian leader opened a session of parliament.

Mugabe opened the fourth session of the seventh Parliament of Zimbabwe and denounced violence in his speech which was broadcast on national television.

But while President Mugabe was preaching peace, supporters of his ZANU PF party attacked Councillor Chifodya, the chief whip for Harare City Councillors and Chimbiri.

Councillor Chifodya was attacked at the corner of Nelson Mandela Avenue and Sam Nujoma Street in central Harare while on his way to Parliament to attend proceedings in Parliament where he was an invited guest. Chimbiri was filming the arrival of President Mugabe to address Parliament.

Councillor Chifodya sustained a deep cut on his head and is currently receiving medical assistance at a local health institution while Chimbiri sustained injuries leading to a bleeding nose. Chimbiri had by late Tuesday not recovered his video camera.

This is the second time in less than two months that ZANU PF supporters have unleashed violence in the environs of Parliament.

On Saturday 23 July 2011, ZANU PF supporters disrupted a public hearing organized by the Joint Committee of the House of Assembly Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs and the Senate Thematic Committee on Human Rights at Parliament to solicit people’s views on the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) Bill.

The boisterous ZANU PF supporters verbally abused and assaulted Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) Member of Parliament for Hwange Central, Hon. Brian Tshuma for allegedly not singing the anthem and turned their inexplicable anger and violence on journalists from the private media, including Levi Mukarate of The Financial Gazette and Nqaba Matshazi of The Standard and Aaron Ufumeli of NewsDay, who were covering the hearing.

Meanwhile, in his address to Parliament, President Mugabe hinted at imminent plans to hold elections saying bickering parties to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) had “now agreed on key milestones and timelines in preparation for the holding of national elections.”

He said the Referendum Bill together with the Electoral Act agreed to by the GPA negotiators and adopted by the coalition government’s Cabinet will soon be tabled before Parliament as part of preparations to hold elections.

Mugabe, who denounced violence appealed to legislators to preach messages of national healing and reconciliation in their constituencies.

ENDS

Marange Diamond Revenues Used to Buy French Planes

The Africa Report 

Cash strapped Air Zimbabwe buys Airbus planes

Monday, 22 August 2011 16:16

Air Zimbabwe has bought two new A340-200 Airbus passenger planes from France in a deal bankrolled by one of the mining firms licensed to mine at the controversial Marange diamond fields. Map of Zimbabwe Mbada Diamonds, which has a joint venture with the state owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), financed the deal. It is expected to cost US$500 million. The company's involvement, although a welcome relief for Air Zimbabwe, which was struggling to replace its ageing aircraft, is likely to fuel speculation that President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF is running a parallel structure since the money was not channeled through treasury. Finance Minister Tendai Biti says diamond revenue from the Marange fields has not been accounted for and suspects Zanu PF appointees at ZMDC are abusing the money. Last month ZMDC also provided money to increase salaries of civil servants without Biti’s knowledge. Aviation sources said Eads, the French aircraft manufacturer was the supplier of the planes. AirZimbabwe chairperson Jonathan Kadzura was reluctant to divulge details of the deal saying he would do so later this week. “Mbada Diamonds are the financial muscle behind the planes deal as Air Zimbabwe is broke. “However, the diamond company’s interest in the whole arrangement is still not clear” said an aviation source. Air Zimbabwe which has an obsolete fleet of three Boeing 737-200 planes has not flown commercial flights since July 29 when the airline’s 49 pilots walked out over outstanding salaries and allowances. Pilots earn between US$1200 and US$2 500 a month. The troubled state-owned airline’s bosses say they need US$7 million to settle the dispute, but the government says it is too broke to help. The strike, the second work stoppage this year, has disrupted the travel plans of thousands of people. To prepare to take delivery of the new planes, the Air Zimbabwe's staff is undergoing training. A team of pilots and air stewards was last week dispatched to Madrid, Spain for a month long intensive training on the new aircraft. In July a team of pilots and stewards was dispatched to Toulouse, France, for training on the new aircraft. The new aircraft will service Air Zimbabwe’s long-haul routes – mainly to China and the United Kingdom. http://www.theafricareport.com/archives2/business/5170074-cash-strapped-air-zimbabwe-buys-airbus-planes.html

BBC: Zimbabwe torture camp discovered

Victims speak of massacre in Zimbabwe diamond fields

A BBC investigation has found that torture camps are being operated by Zimbabwe's security forces near the Marange diamond fields.
Victims have told the BBC's Hilary Andersson that prisoners are routinely subjected to rape and severe beatings and that some are mauled by dogs.
This comes as the EU is pushing for a partial end to a sales ban on Marange diamonds. The names of people in this report have been changed to protect their identities.
Hilary Andersson reports.

 See short videos of interviews
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14445087
http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_9557000/9557246.stm

Export of Zimbabwean diamonds threatens ethical jewellery trade

Rosie Spinks

08 August, 2011

With the Kimberley Process in a state of paralysis over Zimbabwean diamonds, consumers can no longer be sure they’re buying ethical jewels. Ahead of a BBC Panorama investigation into the issue, Rosie Spinks reports

The dusty veld on Zimbabwe’s eastern border with Mozambique is home to the Marange diamond fields; an area with rich alluvial deposits that have an estimated worth of up to US $800 billion and could be viable for the next 80 years.

However the extraction of diamonds from these fields – and their subsequent release into the global market - has put the ethical diamond trade in jeopardy due to allegations of serious human rights abuses connected to the region's diamond industry.

‘At this point, the consumer has no idea what they’re getting at jewellery stores,’ says Annie Dunnebacke of Global Witness, a UK-based NGO. ‘And retailers have no way of telling consumers if a diamond has been produced without human rights abuses.’

In 2002, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was created to prevent the sale of ‘blood diamonds', or stones used by rebel groups to fund civil wars, such as those in Sierra Leone and Angola.

Diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange region have been questioned ever since President Robert Mugabe’s forces took over mining operations there in 2008 as part of his attempt to nationalise the industry. Since then, numerous reports of human rights abuses—including rape, child labour, and mass killings—have emerged.
Tomorrow, BBC Panorama airs an in-depth investigation into the scale and scope of these alleged crimes, and assesses whether or not Mugabe will ever be held accountable.

The controversy over Marange diamonds reached a peak on June 23, when the civil society branch of the KPCS walked out in protest at the body’s official meeting being held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The dozen African and international groups that comprise the KP civil society coalition, which includes Global Witness, clashed with KP Chairman Mathieu Yamba of the DRC. Yamba broke with the KP’s consensus-based decision making procedure by unilaterally stating that Zimbabwe could start exporting rough stones from Marange without having to prove their compliance with KP regulations first.

‘The case in Zimbabwe highlights the extent to which the KP isn’t able to [control] the members who don’t uphold the minimum standards to accountability,’ said Dunnebacke. She confirmed that Global Witness, which was instrumental in founding the KPCS, is currently ‘reconsidering future participation’ with the scheme.

Conservative MP Henry Bellingham, the UK Foreign Office Minister to Africa, said the UK is committed to ending the trade of conflict diamonds. Bellingham believes that Yamba’s recent decision cannot be considered valid.

‘Despite the statement released by the Chair of the KP in June, it is clear that KP members did not reach a consensus to resume exports of diamonds from Marange,’ Bellingham told the Ecologist. ‘Any agreement must ensure Zimbabwe complies with its KP obligations, and must be robust enough to ensure that the KP remains a credible and effective mechanism.’

Bellingham’s disapproval of Yamba’s unilateral action was echoed by other national governments including the US State department, which issued a statement saying it was ‘deeply disappointed’ by the non-consensus based decision.

The World Diamond Council, the group formed to represent the interests of the diamond industry in KPCS decisions, said in a press release that traders in the industry should avoid Marange diamonds for the time being.`The WDC urges all members of the trade to deal only in rough diamonds that are accompanied by KP certificates that comply with the consensus decisions of the Kimberley Process.’

Defining conflict diamonds

It has widely been quoted that less than one per cent of the diamonds on the world market are blood diamonds. However, Dunnebacke states this figure only applies when the narrow definition of a blood diamond is used, which only includes stones that rebel groups use to fund civil wars. In Zimbabwe, it is the legitimate (if controversial) government, not rebels, that is reportedly profiting from diamonds mined in inhumane conditions. In addition, Mugabe’s officials are failing to account for the proceeds from these stones in a transparent manner.

Farai Maguwu is a Zimbabwean diamond activist who was jailed and then released last year for allegedly 'publishing and communicating false information' related to human rights abuses at the mines. He said that if the KP is concerned with human rights, it must broaden its definition to include situations like the one in Zimbabwe.

‘In terms of ending rebel related conflicts the KP achieved its goal 100 per cent,’ Maguwu told the Ecologist. ‘But in terms of protecting people from diamond related violence, the KP has failed to find an answer, especially where it pertains to Zimbabwe. It's not about the identity of the perpetrator, whether it be government or rebel group that matters, it is all about protecting people.’

Maguwu is not optimistic when it comes to the prospect of average Zimbabweans benefiting from the vast mineral wealth that is found in their nation. ‘You have a situation where the Finance Minster says he is not receiving proceeds from diamond sales and then a quasi state institution [is] paying salaries for state employees using proceeds from diamond sales,’ Maguwu said. ‘Unfortunately diamonds are non-renewable and that day may never come when we [Zimbabweans] shall all say, “behold what our diamonds have done for us.”’

Zimbabwe as a symptom
However dire, the situation in Zimbabwe is only part of the larger challenge the KPCS faces at present. There are major underlying problems within the certification scheme as a whole that must be addressed, according to Dunnebacke. She cited administrative problems, including a lack of funding and a permanent secretariat, as well as issues caused by a consensus being required for every decision that's made.

The KPCS has a three-pronged structure: the civil society coalition, participating governments (of both producer and consumer nations), and industry representatives. Dunnebacke said that both government and industry have to make major changes if the KPCS is going to move forward as an effective regulator.

‘We need to face the facts now and see that government have failed in their responsibility to see that the KP is effective and industry has totally failed in their responsibility to see that there’s any supply train traceability,’ Dunnebacke said. ‘Its basic stuff - find out who your suppliers are, who their suppliers are, and then demand documentary evidence for that.’

In Zimbabwe's case, several possibilities remain. In the wake of Yamba’s decision, it's possible that Marange diamonds are being exported with KP certification attached. In addition, smuggled Marange diamonds could have already left Zimbabwe and been on the market prior to June's meeting. For these and other reasons, Dunnebacke says, there is currently no guarantee of a ‘conflict-free’ diamond on the market. ‘It’s not something the consumer wants to hear,’ Dunnebacke said. ‘But the fact is unless you’re buying from certain companies that have a “mine to market” certification scheme or from retailers that only buy from a certain mine, there’s no way of knowing.’

Maguwu says that it's sad that something as precious as a diamond can result in such suffering and wants to see it change. 'Diamonds are an expression of love, not hatred or pain,' he said. ‘This love must flow from the place of origin, from that remote village, through the whole production chain, right up to the consumer.’

For more information, see www.globalwitness.org

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/1005476/export_of_zimbabwean_diamonds_threatens_ethical_jewellery_trade.html

Zimbabwe Parliament Probes Assault of Legislators by Alleged Mugabe Militants

Legislators and journalists attending a hearing on the Human Rights Commission Bill were assaulted by a mob of more than 100 people chanting revolutionary songs and ZANU-PF party slogans.

Irwin Chifera & Ntungamili Nkomo | Harare/Washington

 

Zimbabwe's Parliament opened an investigation Monday into the violent intrusion into the House on Saturday by alleged militants of President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party who disrupted a hearing on enabling legislation for a human rights commission.
House Speaker Lovemore Moyo held meetings with Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma, Chairman Douglas Mwonzora of the Parliamentary Committee on Justice, the police detail in charge of parliamentary security and the Central Intelligence Organization.

Moyo was expected to make his findings public in a news conference Tuesday.
Legislators and journalists attending the hearing on the Human Rights Commission Bill were assaulted by a mob of more than 100 people chanting revolutionary songs and ZANU-PF slogans who began assaulting committee members and others.

Member of Parliament Brian Tshuma of the Movement for Democratic Change formation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was said to have sustained significant injuries. Sources said Tshuma was also robbed of his mobile phone and money.

Both formations of the MDC and political commentators condemned Saturday’s incident, calling on police to prosecute those responsible.

Spokesman Nhlanhla Dube of the MDC wing headed by Industry Minister Welshman Ncube told VOA Studio 7 reporter Ntungamili Nkomo that failing to bring the perpetrators of the attack in Parliament to justice would set a bad precedent.
The Tsvangirai MDC went a step further and demanded that Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri resign for failing to arrest those responsible.

ZANU-PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo refused to comment, saying only: “I wasn’t involved in the fiasco, so I wouldn’t want to comment.”

Political analyst Effie Dlela Ncube said the attack in Parliament clearly paints ZANU-PF as a violent political party. "These people are against anything that seeks to protect human rights in Zimbabwe because they are guilty of rights abuses," Ncube said.

Switzerland rejects unilateral decision on Zim diamonds

By Alex Bell
05 July 2011

Switzerland has become the latest country to reject a unilateral decision to allow Zimbabwe to export diamonds from the Chiadzwa diamond fields, a move that has further undermined the credibility of the Kimberley Process (KP).

A meeting of KP members in the DRC last month ended with no consensus on Zimbabwe’s trade future, with mainly western nations still concerned about conditions at Chiadzwa. But despite these concerns and ongoing reports of human rights abuses and smuggling, the KP’s Chairman, Mathieu Yamba (from the DRC), announced at the end of the meeting that Zimbabwe had the green light to resume exporting.

A number of KP members, including the US, Canada, Israel and now Switzerland, have all rejected this announcement, insisting that no consensus was reached. KP decisions are meant to be made and implemented only after consensus among members of the monitoring body.

The Geneva based Zimbabwe Advocacy Office, together with its partner group Bread For All, this week slammed Yamba’s decision, saying it has “further undermined the credibility” of the KP. The group’s Marlon Zakeyo told SW Radio Africa that the decision could deal a “devastating blow” to the future of the KP, with some analysts predicting that the global watchdog could collapse.

“The international diamond industry and consumers have all come to rely on the KP, and if it is going to be undermined in this way then it will be serious blow to all,” Zakeyo said.

Switzerland’s decision to reject the decision on Zimbabwe comes as previously confiscated shipments of Chiadzwa diamonds have been released for sale by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The 14 shipments, which total about US$160 million, had been held by Dubai customs since last November. It’s understood the shipments have now been shipped to India, all as a result of the KP’s announcement on Zimbabwe.

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news050711/switz050711.htm

Zimbabwe and its diamonds: Forever dirty

 

Robert Mugabe is being favoured once again, to the detriment of his people

Jun 30th 2011 | HARARE | from the print edition 

http://www.economist.com/node/18898238

THE Kimberley Process (KP) is in danger of collapse. Set up in 2003, the system is supposed to end the trade in “blood diamonds” which illicitly finance civil wars. But its Congolese chairman has unilaterally decided to let sales from Zimbabwe’s disputed Marange diamond fields resume. America, the European Union, Canada and Israel are hotly contesting the move. Rulings by the 49-member body, representing 75 diamond-producing and -trading countries, are supposed to be unanimous.
Ever since diamonds were first discovered in a 60,000-hectare site in Marange in eastern Zimbabwe in 2006, reports of killings, torture, corruption, bribery, looting, smuggling and political skulduggery have been rife. The stakes are enormous. Tendai Biti, Zimbabwe’s finance minister, has described the field as “the biggest find of alluvial diamonds in the history of mankind”. Potential revenue has been estimated at $1 billion-2 billion a year. One mining expert involved in the area reckons it is “much, much more”. The IMF put Zimbabwe’s entire GDP last year at $7.5 billion.
Following the announcement of the find by a London-registered company, African Consolidated Resources (ACR), tens of thousands of locals and foreigners rushed to the area to try their luck. Diamonds were being scooped up by the handful. President Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party quickly moved to claim the fields as its own, cancelling ACR’s prospecting rights and sending in the army to oust the panners and local inhabitants and to seal off the area. At least 200 people were killed, many of them by bullets fired from army helicopters. Some evicted civilians were then forced back by soldiers to mine the diamonds for a pittance.

In the face of growing reports of human-rights violations, the KP imposed a ban on all further sales of Marange diamonds. But production, mainly by two South African outfits in joint ventures with the Zimbabwean government, continued. By June last year 4.6m carats, worth $1.7 billion—money the cash-strapped government sorely needed—had been stockpiled. A month later, following a report by KP’s monitor, Abbey Chikane, a South African, claiming that Zimbabwe was now fully complying with KP rules, two small sales of Marange diamonds were permitted, though no more since then.
On June 24th, however, at the end of a four-day KP meeting in Congo, the body’s chairman, Mathieu Yamba, announced that the two Zimbabwean-South African joint ventures, Mbada Diamonds and Marange Resources, could resume diamond sales. NGOs, who have continued to monitor the disputed fields, are aghast. They say that human-rights abuses, smuggling and other blatant breaches of KP’s rules are still going on, with most of the proceeds going into the pockets of army leaders and Zanu-PF bigwigs. Mr Biti says the Treasury has seen barely a cent.
Western members of the KP insist that Mr Yamba’s announcement, not having been approved by the required consensus, is invalid. They, together with the World Diamond Council, are asking international diamond traders not to touch Marange diamonds. But they may not be able to stem the flood of illicit gems pouring out of Zimbabwe, to be snapped up in Bahrain, China, India and Lebanon, among others. Many poor countries have long regarded the KP as a plot by Western countries to control the diamond trade—and thereby prices. This could sound its death knell—and help Mr Mugabe keep himself and his party afloat.

Kimberley Process: Zimbabwe diamond sale 'approval' row

24 June 2011 Last updated at 19:06 GMT
 

A row has broken out over reports that Zimbabwe has been allowed to sell diamonds from its rich Marange mines.

A statement by the current chair of the Kimberley Process - the industry's main certification system - appears to allow exports to resume.
However, the US, the EU and other groups signed up to the process insist that no consensus had been reached at a meeting in Kinshasa.
All Kimberley decisions are supposed to be consensus-based.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13902146

Watching the Murder of an Innocent Man

By BARRY BEARAK

As the restless mob milled about, a 26-year-old Zimbabwean immigrant named Farai Kujirichita emerged from one of the narrow passageways that led to the field. He was wearing a carefully pressed, lilac-colored shirt and talking into his cellphone. By then, many people were coming and going; his arrival was nothing remarkable. And yet some men from the crowd confronted him.

“Who are you talking to?” they wanted to know. “Who are you warning?”

Then came a more complicated question. “Where are you from?”

Read More... 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/magazine/watching-the-murder-of-an-innocent-man.html?ref=africa&pagewanted=all

WFDB urges KP to kickstart Zimbabwe diamond trade

May 31, 2011  

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WFDB president Avi Paz has made a strong plea to the Kimberley Process.

The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has called on the members of the Kimberley Process (KP) to allow Zimbabwe to export rough diamonds from all diamond mining areas in the country, including Marange.

WFDB has made a plea for the KP members "to resolve their internal disagreements on the issue of rough diamond exports from Zimbabwe, and without any further delay take the essential and courageous decision to allow Zimbabwe to export rough diamonds".

WFDB president Avi Paz said: "The KP, due to the deadlock in its decision-making process and its experts' ensuing indecision to allow rough diamond exports from Zimbabwe to resume, is about to cause irreparable damage throughout the entire to supply pipeline of our industry and trade, and threatens the livelihood of literally millions of people throughout the international diamond and jewellery sector."

He went on to say that by failing to make a decision the KP "bears direct responsibility, not only for the reputational damage done to the diamond and jewellery sector, but also for a significant part of the economic hardship that continues to befall the people of Zimbabwe".

Headded: "While the diamond industry and trade is in a position to contribute to the betterment of many Zimbabwean citizens, the inaction of the KP, its members and its experts is now the major stumbling block toward real progress. In addition, if the KP remains indecisive on ZIM, there is a real danger that the relevance of the KP itself will be at stake."

Despite these strong words, Paz was quick to point out that he had instructed all members of the WFDB to continue to follow the KP's and the WFDB's clear directives not to trade in rough diamonds without the proper KP certification.

Paz said: "The KP members and experts need to come and face reality and resolve the ZIM issue once and for all. I urge them to do so soonest."

http://www.professionaljeweller.com/article-9470-wfdb-urges-kp-to-kickstart-zimbabwe-diamond-trade/

Zimbabwean activist refuses to bend under Mugabe’s rule

Jenni Williams has no love for Robert Mugabe.

The protests that Ms. Williams has organized against the policies of Zimbabwe’s megalomaniac President have landed her behind bars “37 or 38 times, it’s difficult to keep track,” she said with a quick smile during an interview Tuesday at the Ottawa headquarters of Amnesty International.

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As the founder of the underground group Women of Zimbabwe Arise, Ms. Williams holds Mr. Mugabe “directly accountable” for the repressive laws and the desperate poverty that mark life in her East African country. “Mugabe is also directly accountable for the violence he perpetrates on the nation,” she said. “He even brags about it. He said, ‘I have degrees in violence.’”

But the 49-year-old activist also fears what could come next.

Mr. Mugabe, who has held power for more than three decades, is 87years old and there are persistent rumours that his health is failing. He has not named a successor. And if that does not happen, “we may have a civil war in Zimbabwe. It’s a reality,” Ms. Williams said. “It frightens me terribly.”

Already there are others within Mr. Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party who are positioning themselves to become leader when the job becomes vacant.

“They have these youth that they have propagandized and quite often they are high on drugs and they [the political leaders] will use this youth militia to put fear in the nation,” Ms. Williams said. There are also allegations that a recently discovered diamond field is being used to enhance the military capabilities of the presidential hopefuls.

“It’s warlordism being put in place in case he doesn’t name a successor,” she said. “Then they will have to fight it out to see who wins.”

Gun battles would be waged in the streets of a country already crippled by hunger, poverty and violence, Ms. Williams said.

If that happens, her own grown children and her husband would be safe. They have all moved to Britain. But Ms. Williams refuses to leave the place where she was born.

Despite her numerous arrests, she is in Canada only to deliver a speech to mark Amnesty International’s 50th anniversary and will return to Zimbabwe when the brief visit ends. She credits the work of the international human rights group for the fact that she and her colleagues are still alive.

Ms. Williams is of mixed race – her maternal grandfather was a member of the Irish Republican Army who married an African. Her father was black.

She ran a public-relations company until 2000 when the reforms of Mr. Mugabe removed white farmers from their land. The police harassment that followed made it impossible for her to continue in business. At the same time, repressive laws were being enacted, violence was increasing, and 98 per cent of Zimbabweans could not find jobs.

“So we found like-minded women and we started to consult and discuss what could be done,” she said. “We felt that, as women, if we don’t speak out, if we just sit in our homes crying and doing nothing, life is going to pass us by and it’s going to get worse. We said let’s go out in the street, do something non-violent, do something to hold our government accountable.”

The result has been nine years of peaceful protests – and nine years of arrests and abductions and torture. But the organization now has 80,000 members and is a force to be reckoned with.

There is some hope that the country’s new constitution will bring in the kinds of checks and balances that will make Mr. Mugabe’s successor more accountable, Ms. Williams said.

But there will be a long period of uncertainty until the new president is in place. And if the situation gets worse, Ms. Williams said she will not leave.

“I can’t imagine myself living anywhere else,” she said. “If it descends into civil war, I am there to make it better.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/zimbabwean-activist-refuses-to-bend-under-mugabes-rule/article2042283/