15 May 2008
column
A RATHER confused message coming from The Post in Zambia. Just as thousands of Zimbabweans are suffering a terrible onslaught from Zanu PF as punishment for voting for the opposition, the newspaper publishes an editorial attacking the MDC for its Western links.
Opposition leaders had every right to campaign to remove President Mugabe, the editorial said, "but it's treacherous for them to do so on the back of national failure".
So let's get this straight: if Mugabe's disastrous policies and populist posturing have brought the country to a state of collapse, it is "treacherous" to say so?
This is the sort of misplaced nationalist nonsense that has contributed to the structural failure of states like Zambia and Zimbabwe. Instead of responding ourselves lest we be accused of harbouring an imperialist agenda, let's provide space for the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), an affiliate of the ZCTU, which last weekend took out full-page advertisements to acquaint the public with the plight of teachers in outlying areas who have been the targets of Mugabe's thugs.
"We are very disappointed by the manner in which our African brothers and sisters have handled the Zimbabwean crisis," the PTUZ said. "Zimbabweans are made of flesh and blood; they do not need Westerners to tell them that they are being beaten. Sadc and the AU must stop chasing the shadow of the imperialist ghost and listen to what the majority of Zimbabweans are saying. When our nationalist leaders say they are reclaiming land from the white minority we take it that the land is needed for farming and not to bury us when we die of hunger and politically motivated violence."
Equally confused is Patrick Chinamasa who says government will not invite Western observers to monitor the presidential run-off unless sanctions are removed.
First of all, what is a ruling-party official doing setting the rules for an electoral contest in which their leader is a player? This is once again a case of the candidate becoming the referee. Secondly, according to the Sadc Mauritius protocol on elections, it should be the function of the electoral commission to determine which observers it wants to invite, not the regime which has an interest in securing a favourable coverage.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has already proved itself deeply compromised. By allowing Chinamasa to arrogate to government the role of setting rules, imposing conditions and handpicking observers, the commission is further abdicating responsibility for the conduct of the run-off.
Already we have seen a Zimbabwean editor arrested for carrying opinions by an opposition leader that are deemed prejudicial to the state and to judges, even though those opinions form part of the public discourse. And trade union leaders are incarcerated for criticising the regime on Workers Day, May 1. They were denied bail when there was no danger of them absconding.
Chinamasa has previously said we have the right to criticise judges but that was when the judiciary was considered hostile to Zanu PF's machinations!
Foreign journalists have been prosecuted for covering the first round without accreditation even though Aippa was amended after inter-party talks to remove provisions on compulsory accreditation.
Everywhere there is evidence of state intrusion which will intensify now Mugabe is seen as vulnerable to defeat. The small clique around him that believe he was deprived of victory by a Western plot and MDC manipulation now want to make sure they control the electoral process more effectively.
As for sanctions, it does not appear to have dawned on Chinamasa that there will be no change there until the state puts a stop to violence. Sanctions were imposed in response to the violence and electoral manipulation that surrounded elections in 2000 and 2002. Now the state has unleashed the same dogs of war, it thinks the West will simply fold its arms and watch.
That will not happen. International opinion is appalled by reports from organisations such as the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights which have documented the terrible injuries people have suffered for daring to oppose Zanu PF or because members of their families dared to vote against the ruling party.
Journalists in the state media seem unable to report facts on the ground without spinning the story so it is unrecognisable alongside the original version.
The visit by US ambassador James McGee and other diplomats to a hospital in Chiweshe on Tuesday provides a good example. Here is the Reuters version: "The United States condemned Zimbabwe's government on Tuesday for its 'harassment' of the US ambassador and other diplomats questioned by police after visiting post-election violence victims at a hospital.
"The diplomats were on their way back from visiting a rural hospital to see victims of post-election violence. They were also held up at the hospital and questioned by security officials over their reasons for being there...".
Now compare that to what the Herald said: "Yesterday (Tuesday) Ambassador McGee wanted to travel to Centenary in Mashonaland Central province where he intended to visit hospitals that MDC-T claimed were treating the party's supporters who were allegedly assaulted by Zanu PF and government agents. He however was stopped at a roadblock near Glendale where police asked him to produce a note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming his journey and actions."
Wouldn't an ordinary reader conclude from this that McGee was on his way to Centenary when he was stopped at Glendale and prevented from proceeding any further? In fact he spent some time at Mvurwi District Hospital and Howard Mission Hospital in Chiweshe and was able to film the extent of the injuries inflicted on MDC supporters. It was a useful trip. But he was stopped, along with the other diplomats, on his return journey. There was then an altercation with the police and others that lasted for about one hour and 20 minutes during which threats were reportedly made against a US diplomat.
But the Herald was so busy injecting George Charamba's opinions and implicating "hired journalists" in the story that it omitted to actually relate what happened. The Herald chose not to mention for instance that McGee was accompanied by envoys from Britain, the European Union, Japan, the Netherlands and Tanzania.
How useful is a newspaper that can't even tell its readers what happened?
Still on the subject of wayward journalism, we were interested to note that Tafataona Mahoso continues to claim that up to 1 000 "former Rhodesian white farmers" returned to Zimbabwe in March 2008 and celebrated the MDC's "fraudulently announced victory" as having terminated African land reclamation.
This fictional episode was contained in the fake document Tendai Biti was accused of authoring before his lawyers wrote to the Herald. Mahoso continues to circulate the claim in the Sunday Mail even though he provides no evidence.
We are sure he would not want to be accused of circulating an unverified report. So we await the evidence that between 750 and 1 000 "former Rhodesian white farmers" returned to the country in March.
By the way, if they are formerly white, what colour are they now? And who counted them?
The Sunday Mail carried full-page ads last weekend from Air Zimbabwe to promote their Chinese MA60 planes on the occasion of their third anniversary as part of the AirZim fleet.
These planes have not enjoyed a universally acclaimed reputation. But they have been embraced by some of AirZim's regular customers including Pastors Tom and Bonnie Deuschle and our columnist Eric Bloch.
Bloch says while the MA60 is not without fault, "its deficiencies are not of magnitude or major substance". Phew, that's OK then.
Bloch drew attention to the unstable access stairs but the airline says the problem has been resolved. Then there is the vibration and engine noise. But this only affects passengers in the front rows. Bloch says he always books a seat in the back row where there is less noise.
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