How can the economy stand still when murderous Mugabe wants to defy the will of the majority of Zimbabweans to cling to power by ruse. He is on the point of even fooling Mbeki.

Just yesterday, Botswana appealed for international assistance to meet its obligations towards an ever increasing number of refugees and political asylum seekers from once prosperous Zimbabwe! The economy continues to slide not even dangerously but morbidly. It's the endgame of Mugabe, unless Mbeki is in collusion with him to save his honour, if any honour he still has!!

The Chair of Zimbabwe Transparency International has been handled roughly for circulating information that post run off elections violence was still widespread. He is being dragged to court. They will soon have The Herald refute the Botswana government about the ever increasing number of Zimbabweans crossing the frontier for their safety.

Mugabe and cronies will be crushed by their own blatant lies. Tsvangirai will have to heed the cries of all those killed, maimed and raped to reject any arrangement short of his becoming an executive PM. Otherwise, he will also get drowned up with liars, murderers, rapists and what not in an attempt by the latter to continue confiscating the whole national cake.

Well, well! The cake will be poisoned this time and God-annoited illegitimate President Mugabe .... ??

SMART REPORTINNG

'Big or small, terrorism affects them all'- Island Editorial 'The Island', a most frequented local daily in Sri Lanka at the event of the 15th SAARC summit in Colombo, comprehends the need for a more globalized, cohesive counter- terrorist network for preserving world peace in a timely editorial published today(July 28).

The editorial while emphasizing on the transborder terrorist cooperation threatening world democracies at present further asserts that, 'the continuation by countries of the wrong policy of being selective in dealing with terrorism and using it as an extension of their foreign policy will only make this world a much more dangerous place to live in'. Highlighting the Saturday's bomb blast in Gujarat, in Indian soil as a gruesome reminder of the severity of the terrorist problem the paper refers that terrorist groups no longer operate in similar entities, as could be seen from the transfer of technology and lethal materials among them.

Also underscoring proactive and equitable implementation of counter terrorist measures the editorial finally notes that failure will make, "the day not far off when terrorists will run parallel governments and anarchy will descend on the world".

Following is the full text of the editorial published by 'The Island'. The world leaders are preoccupied with a campaign against nuclear proliferation with the purported goal of preserving global peace, adopting as they do double standards in dealing with the problem. But, they have not taken cognisance of other equally grave threats to global peace far more complex and intractable such as terrorism.

The gravity of terrorism became clear to the global North, when Al Queda came home to roost in 2001. The mighty US was busy devising missiles shields in the heaven to protect itself from its enemies on the earth, at the time bin Laden made missiles of fuel laden jets to obliterate its economic icon in New York and damage the Pentagon. The London bombings of 2005 shocked the world yet another time. There has been a lull in high profile terror strike in the West--touch wood!--mainly due to extraordinary precautions which have taken a heavy toll on the civil liberties that others used to envy.

Terror attacks that small countries like Sri Lanka suffer may be taken for granted by the powerful members of the international community but Saturday's blasts that rocked Gujarat have come as a gruesome reminder to them of the severity of the problem of terrorism. India, too, has been thinking of protecting its national security interests in terms of nukes. But, a band of terrorists carrying crude bombs has demonstrated its ability to run rings round India!

Small as such attacks may look, the increasing strike-capability of terrorists bodes ill for the future of a country like India with so diverse a society fraught with ethno-religious tensions. The problem of ethno-religious terrorism may not be so manifest in the affluent western societies where people are bonded by a common national identity deriving sustenance from their economic wellbeing. But, the day their economies slow down or cease to expand making the marginalised sections the first casualties, the disintegration of the western societies will begin and among the disgruntled people terrorism will find a fertile breeding ground as in the developing world.

Networking of terrorists across the globe poses the same danger to the world as the proliferation of nukes and biological and chemical weapons. For, there is the possibility of those weapons finding their way into the hands of terrorist groups, which no longer operate as separate entities, as could be seen from the transfer of technology and lethal materials among them.

Besides this kind of trans-border terrorist co-operation, success of one terror group provides inspiration to others. Time was when IRA became a role model for many terrorist outfits the world over. Had Britain given in to the IRA terrorism, its political wing would never have evolved the way it did to help resolve the conflict through a dialogue. If only Britain adopted the same stand on others' terrorists as well!

The problem of terrorism has become unmanageable because it has unfortunately become part of the foreign policy of some countries. Al Queda was a creation of the US to pull Afghanistan out of Russia's orbit. Later, the creature turned against its creator and found refuge in some states hostile to the US.

In Africa, if the member states of the African Union stop promoting terrorism against one another, without being driven by their desire for hegemony and exploitation of others' resources, as in the case of victim states like Congo and Sierra Leone and if the Western nations desist from backing terrorism to further their economic and religious interests in countries like Sudan and Congo, that continent may be free from the curse of terrorism.

In Congo alone about four million people have so far perished at the hands of terrorists backed by western corporations which see that country as a source of cheap coltan to keep the cost of their electronic goods down. India created terrorism in Sri Lanka, as the latter aligned itself with the US after 1977, in a bipolar world at that time. India and Pakistan are accusing each other of instigating cross border terrorism.

The so-called democratic world has also sponsored state terrorism in many countries. France continued to fund Bokassa in spite of his crimes against humanity. It even made a huge contribution to that lunatic despot's coronation as emperor. The US propped up the Saddam Hussein regime and provided him with funds and even crop spraying choppers that Iraq used for chemical attacks in its Anfal campaign which left thousands of Kurds dead.

The Chilean dictator Pinochet disported himself in bloodletting with Britain backing him to the hilt. That his much dreaded Caravan of Death resulted in the extermination of thousands of his opponents meant nothing to Britain, which refused to extradite him to stand trial, when he took refuge in that country towards the latter stages of his life. Sweden, Norway (the Quisling regime to be exact) etc. had no qualms about siding with Hitler the mass murderer.

Thus, the world is reaping the whirlwind, having sowed the wind. The continuation by countries of the wrong policy of being selective in dealing with terrorism and using it as an extension of their foreign policy will only make this world a much more dangerous place to live in.

It was the unity of the democratic nations, regardless of all their differences, that helped stop Hitler in his tracks. Ubiquitous terrorism has proved to be far more complicated and dangerous than Nazism. It has not spared even the mighty nations with arsenals strong enough to blow up the planet several times over. Hence, the need for the democratic world to join forces, the way it did during the World War II against genocidal Nazism, to remove the scourge of terror from our midst.

If different nations adopt different approaches to tackling terrorism for whatever reason, there will be no end to blasts in New York, London, Madrid, Kabul, New Delhi Ahmedabad, Islamabad, Colombo etc. And the day may not be far off when terrorists will run parallel governments and anarchy will descend on the world.

Courtesy: The Island

Prem you have developed hatred against our President. If you are white l am not surprised. lf you are white you better take hid of what the other writer has said. Becareful not to cause another world war.

Dear Chiki,

It's not a question of white or what not! I have many Zimbabwean friends and they all bleed deep inside that they cannot offer any comfort to their children even with all the sacrifices there are undergoing.

Mugabe bears the sole responsibility of not only the mess around, but also the widespread human tragedy. He also holds the key to a smooth transition should he accept to hand over power. Tsvangirai has declared publicly he was agreeable to grant him a peaceful exit. What else does he want.

The MDC Chief negotiator is still under a very serious charge of undermining state security. Where is the level playing field?

We are millions to plead for the will of the majority to be heeded. Tsvangirai is under duress to talk to the tyrant. We have therefore to keep up raising awareness as largely as possible.

It's unfortunate that I have been pushed to join Tutu, Mandela, Zuma and Annan in denouncing someone who we considered not only a hero. We also went a long way to offer moral support for his rule.

I can no more now. May be, if he retires from his executive power I would be tempted to join hands with others to erect a monument in front of the Parliament in honour of those who fell down in search of freedom and justice. I will at the same time try to contribute towards putting behind Mugabe's last years in power.

I pray time will help you see with retrospection that we could not deal with Mugabe with gloves in our hand. I have been with the various struggles for a better Africa. I appeal to you and to similar thinking fellows to join in creating conditions conducive for a clean start in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe can still be a catalyst for an aggressive socio-economic development in the region. Even if Tsvangirai assumes executive power as PM, it would not end our interest in being vigilant should the new Zimbabwean leaders be tempted to divert from the path the public want them to follow.

Let us all fight and struggle around ideas with tolerance. It should not be considered a weakness by would be tyrants.

Hope we will criss cross each other on another occasion where our ideas would converge. In the meantime, may I plead with you to send a strong signal to your cde Mugabe.

Prem My friend its sad that you cant see the light. You have already taken a stance against our president. I do not know why most of you want a transition gvnt giving executive powers to Tsvangirai. Is it difficult to understand that the majority of Zimbabweans did not choose Morgan as their president. To be exact 53% of Zimbabweans said nop. Maybe let me demistfy, if you are runnung in a race and all contestants fall off before reaching the finnishing line, definitely no one should be crowned a winner. You speak of Zuma because he has mentioned negative sentiments against our president and you regard him as a democratic leader. Let me warn you. Politics is a game, and every player plays to win. What happened in Polokwane is what l will call a boardroom coup. That was not democracy ask the scorpions they will tell you why? The Liberian leader you spoke of in one of your artcles is nothing to write home about. She also was involved in a bordroom coup as well. The famous footballer was tipped to win elections and what did they do. He was paid out to pull out from the race and she emerged as an unopposed leader and crowned as a president. She was not elected into power. And when Morgan pulled out you all labled and called President Mugabe names. You talk of level playing field, and what do you call all the illegal sanctions that our county is getting.

and you call the beating murder, torture and rape of MDC supporters a level playing field? Do you call the police and military being forced to vote for Mugabe a level playing field? Now lets go back to these 'illegal' sanctions. Firstly, the only sanctions britain has on zim relates to targeted sanctions on travel for ministers and an arms embargo to prevent an atrocity like we saw in Sudan. If you are talking about the World Bank not lending money to Zim, well then you have to ask China and South Africa why they too refuse to lend money to Zim. The place is way too currupt and it would all just end up in the back pockets of politicians. If you're talking about the more recent sanctions, well they're fair enough too. You cant expect to beat and maim your own people to get power and then expect people to want to trade with you. You cant expect free money. If there was a free and fair election and the people of Zim were allowed to be heard then there wouldnt be a case for sanctions now would there. Wake up buddy. Take a look at your murderous genocidal regime and ask why people dont want to deal with Zimbabwe.

Prem, you claim it is not a question of white, but most white anglos have been expressing such hyperbolic statements about Zimbabwe in general that what we see is not your so-called concerns, but your interest in white Zimbabweans who lost out.

Prem, your words have no compassion really of what is going on in Zimbabwe. You have crocodile tears and full of hypocrisy. Where were you when Mugabe slaughtered the matebele and when Ian Smith was murdering black people in Zimbabwe?

For sure, Zimbabwe has problems and need to be fixed, but we don't need your crocodile false cries and alarmist statements. You are also at odd with African culture of respecting the chosen leaders on Zimbabwe, namely Mbeki. We Africans have our own way of doing things, and you white anglos need to respect our leaders. They maybe corrupt, dictators, murderers,...but ahaa....they are still ours. True Mugabe has broken a lot of the African rules and no one knows if Mugabe will honor anything from the MoU, but there is a process and a chosen leader to guide the discussions.

The talks have broken off. That is good news. A so-called unity gov that neuters MT and the MDC (like was done to Nkomo and Zapu) would be stupidity. Rather let Mugabe lie in the bed he has made. This runaway inflation will devour him just as surely as it is devouring the wealth of all ordinary Zimbabweans. All of Zim will rejoice when he breathes his last. Murderer. Coward. Tyrant. Dictator.

There are those who blame all problems on individuals whilst forgetting about the big picture of reality. Zanu-Pf has made its mistakes, but a peaceful transition is not wanted by the Western Media, as it wont benefit them, so war is what is wanted, wake up Africans and stop the foolishness. No-one wins in a war except the weapon selling companies and the western banks who bank roll everything associated with the weapons and construction industries.

Sooooooo, if it's the western companies and governments that are bankrolling these weapons etc, howcome a high proportion of all weapons that are being used in African wars, etc are of Eastern origin, supplied by China and Russian based dealers?

This habit of blaming the faceless west for all the problems that are being faced is getting stale, and people are starting to see through it bit by bit, the real enemy is within the government of Zimbabwe.

I suggest you all read this... http://article.wn.com/view/2008/07/27/Mugabe_faces_prosecution_if_he_wont_q uit/ How much truth is in it do you think? Reputable source...?

Can you please post a workable link? The link isnt taking us anywhere.

try this. http://article.wn.com/view/2008/07/27/Mugabe_faces_prosecution_if_he_wont_q uit/

Just have to make sure the 'quit' at the end of the link has no space or % sign etc, for some reason when you copy and paste the link it adds a space...

ZIMBABWE President Robert Mugabe has been warned by his South African counterpart, Thabo Mbeki, that he faces prosecution for crimes he has committed during his 28 years in office unless he signs a deal to give up all effective power.

Mr Mbeki, who has done all he can to shield and support Mugabe for the past eight years, has come under overwhelming Western pressure, and has had to tell Mugabe he can no longer protect him and his key cronies from being charged by the International Criminal Court unless he hands over power.

The power-sharing talks between Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change are shrouded in secrecy.

But Mugabe, who has vowed that Mr Tsvangirai will never be in government and that "only God can remove me from power", is reported to be facing humiliation over the terms of the deal that he will be forced to sign next month.

Under the agreement, he will reportedly remain as president in name only and all real power will be held by a 20-member cabinet under Mr Tsvangirai as prime minister. The MDC will have 11 cabinet posts to nine for Mugabe's ZANU-PF.

All Mugabe's senior officials in the Zimbabwe army, police and intelligence services, who have unleashed a campaign of terror since the MDC won a disputed victory in the elections held in March, will be dismissed.

However, observers caution that bringing Mugabe to justice could be a protracted process since Zimbabwe does not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC. And any investigation by the court would require a referral from the UN Security Council, which would probably be blocked by China or Russia.

The transitional government would have close ties to a group of Western donor nations known as the Fishmongers Group, which was set up a year ago on Britain's initiative. It includes the US, Japan, Germany, France, Sweden, Holland, Norway, Canada and Australia. China declined an invitation to join.

The decisive showdown at the talks reportedly came last week when Mugabe realised his power was broken. On Monday, Mr Mbeki's emissary, Sidney Mufamadi, a South African cabinet minister, arrived in Harare to read the riot act to ZANU-PF officials. According to the officials who were present, he told them bluntly: "You don't have a government. You can't summon your parliament. You have no legitimate president, and thus you can have no cabinet. You cannot behave as you have been doing. Real talks have to start right away."

The ZANU-PF negotiators, still congratulating themselves on Mugabe's spurious "victory" in last month's stolen election, were taken aback.

Worse was to follow.

Mr Mbeki flew to Harare and said Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai must meet to sign a memorandum of understanding committing themselves to serious negotiations and to share power.

The talks, he insisted, must be concluded within two weeks, and the two men must meet, shake hands and sign the memorandum of understanding.

Mugabe had never been willing to meet Mr Tsvangirai, let alone shake his hand. But according to leading ZANU-PF sources, he is frightened of going on trial for human rights crimes, particularly since an arrest warrant was issued against Sudanese President Omar Bashir earlier this month. Under Mr Mbeki's pressure, Mugabe gave in.

He agreed that Mr Tsvangirai should come to State House, the President's official residence. But Mr Tsvangirai refused to attend, saying that to do so would be to acknowledge Mugabe as the legitimate president of Zimbabwe: he would sign only on neutral ground.

Mugabe had to be persuaded to leave State House and was driven to Rainbow Towers, the former Sheraton hotel in central Harare, to sign the document and glumly shake hands with a triumphant Mr Tsvangirai.

The power of the Western donor nations has grown as the Zimbabwean economy has plummeted towards meltdown. Hyper-inflation means a newly introduced Zimbabwe 100 billion dollar note is not enough to buy a loaf of bread. The latest harvest has been dismal, bread may soon run out, and widespread famine is a threat.

The World Food Program estimates that by early next year 5.1million people could face starvation across Zimbabwe.

The Fishmongers Group, which is based in The Netherlands, stands powerfully in the wings and in effect has a veto over the negotiations.

Planning is already far advanced for a post-Mugabe future - individual countries have agreed to focus their efforts on education, health and other sectors. A total of £2 billion ($4.1billion) has been pledged to date.

The transitional government will be obliged to follow edicts laid down by the group.

They will insist that the new government gives full and equal access to food aid, plans a return to financial stability, restores the rule of law with an independent judiciary, and respects private property rights.

This will mean the farms expropriated by Mugabe and his cronies will either have to be restored to their owners or compensation will be paid.

The group will insist that the government be committed to freedom of the press and must hold fair elections within 18 months. The group will not release even a dollar to a government that includes anyone guilty either of gross corruption or human rights violations. ZANU-PF will be hard-pushed to find nine ministers who qualify.

The new dispensation will bring to a halt the campaign of terror unleashed by Mugabe since he was defeated in the first round of the presidential elections in March.

A diplomatic source said: "The toughest part of the negotiations is going to be the question of immunity from prosecution for Mugabe and, say, the top 20 members of the junta."

Another diplomat said: "It's ironic. Mbeki could and should have brought Mugabe to heel eight years ago. It would have saved a lot of lives."

South Africa's leading social scientist, Lawrence Schlemmer, said the deal would be of "epochal importance" to the southern African region. "The West could have walked away. Instead, they are showing a huge commitment to democracy in this region."

The Sunday Times

Good news indeed Awt.

lets hope so my friend. Time will tell. Lets hope this is right eh.

Good news indeed Awt.