Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said he will win Zimbabwe's 27 June run-off presidential poll, as he returned to Harare after weeks abroad.
The Movement for Democratic Change leader accused the ruling Zanu-PF party of seeking to "decimate" opposition structures ahead of the vote. His first engagement was to visit supporters hurt in political violence. Mr Tsvangirai's return was delayed amid an alleged army plot to kill him, which the ruling party said was "fantasy". Polls on 29 March saw the country's veteran leader, Robert Mugabe, lose his parliamentary majority for the first time in two decades in power.
The MDC leader says he gained the more than 50% of the presidential vote needed to win without a run-off, but official results - released after long delays - said he gained 47.9%, with Mr Mugabe taking 43.2%. Mr Tsvangirai said the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) would meet on Tuesday to discuss the possible deployment of peacekeepers and election monitors, amid fears that a Zanu-PF campaign of intimidation is making a fair second round impossible.
He said they would be of little use if not in place by 1 June. He said he had been impressed by the supporters he met in hospital, and that he would win the run-off election.
"I saw people with scars and bruises. They said 'president, we will finish him off on June 27'." "If Mugabe thinks he has beaten people into submission, then he will have a rude shock on the 27 of June," he said ..
Chenjerai Chitsaru said:
THERE was what some people might call an amazing bounce in President Robert Mugabe's performance at the launch of his re-election campaign in Harare on Sunday. Before his delivery, there had been rather lacklustre performances by Didymus Mutasa, Elliot Manyika and Patrick Chinamasa. All three seemed acutely aware that the party would have an Everest to climb on 27 June, when Mugabe faces off with Morgan Tsvangirai in the run-off for the presidency.
Their lack of animation was anchored in the reality of what happened on 29 March and why it would be foolhardy for Zanu PF to believe that by the wave of some esoteric magic wand, they could transform Mugabe's rout into a victory on 27 June. They know that, even after the murders of a number of Tsvangirai's supporters since 29 March, the tide has turned, inexorably, against Zanu PF and Mugabe.
Tsvangirai returned on Saturday, reportedly at the insistence of his party,
not because the United States ambassador, James McGee had ordered him to, as Mugabe gloated, but because too many MDC supporters had been killed for the party leader to justify his continued absence from what some called the killing fields in Harare 42 at the last count. He visited supporters recovering in hospital and then attended the funeral of the latest victim, when he delivered a speech ringing with defiance. Moreover, most Zanu PF leaders, except Mugabe, now know that Tsvangirai is in this struggle for the long haul. He has been battered, bruised and brutalised to within an inch of his life since 1998, yet has not wavered.
The 11 March battering last year was particularly brutal. It demonstrated,
once again, that his enemies would not hesitate to kill him, if they believed they could get away with it, as they did with the attempt on Patrick Kombayi's life in 1990.
Mugabe may view this tenacity as being rooted in Tsvangirai's confidence in
the capacity of the United Kingdom and the United States to protect him
against Mugabe's excesses. But it is time Mugabe opened his eyes to the naked truth: Morgan can beat him hands down in a straightforward free and fair election. Most of this has absolutely nothing to do with the UK or the US: it has a lot to do with how Mugabe's performance as president has shredded to smithereens his image as the people's choice, which he may have been before 2000.
In sticking to a tired, boring and unconvincing formula to explain the country's descent into economic perdition Western sanctions and nothing
else he has convinced most Zimbabweans that he has a very low opinion of their intelligence. At the launch in Harare on Sunday, it was almost bizarre to listen to him harp endlessly on why the election was about defeating the West. Watching some of the reaction of the audience quite often stony, fidgety silence you had the distinct impression most of them were unmoved by his rhetoric. Some neutral observers calculated that Mugabe's refusal to acknowledge that his defeat on 29 March was no fluke was a dangerous state of mind to be in for a man leading a country in such dire economic straits as the world's highest rate of inflation.
What it suggests is that to Mugabe the people who voted against him were
preached to by the West and swallowed their propaganda whole. He, it would seem, does not believe the voters took the state of the economy into account, or the violence his party routinely unleashes against them during an election campaign, or the staggering corruption in his government. It would seem, then, that he is convinced his performance has earned him the right to be re-elected without any fuss. This suggests, to many political observers that Mugabe has, spiritually, at least, departed the real world of Zimbabwean politics.
He is living in another dimension, a dimension in which he is still the freedom fighter, his mortal enemies still the imperialists and their running dogs. Perhaps that is why some in the audience at the launch seemed a little put off by his lengthy, boring litany of accusations against the West. When he ended his speech with the most boring epitaph of all - Zimbabwe shall never be a colony again - you could almost hear the yawns among some members of the audience. The question now then, is: why would the people who rejected Mugabe on 29 March suddenly rally behind him on 27 June? Is Mugabe placing all his eggs in the murder basket?
In other words, is he satisfied that the number of MDC supporters killed by
people generally believed to be sympathetic to his dubious cause will
convince others in the opposition to either stay away from the polls or vote
for him instead? Such a state of mind would be in conformity with his deep contempt for the voters' intelligence: bash them a little and they will vote for you, never that you have virtually no political platform with which to woo them. Most of what will happen on 27 June must depend on how much hard work the MDC is prepared to go out into the campaign. The murders will have
frightened many. On the other hand, it might have emboldened others.
If Zanu PF is prepared to shed so much opposition blood, then it stands to
reason that they are scared stiff of a thorough walloping. What might spur the opposition voters to the polls must be the outcome of the 29 March election. In spite of the playing field not being as level as they had hoped it would be and in spite of the absence of a level media playing field, the
opposition still managed to shock Mugabe and Zanu PF. The campaign could turn even more violent as we draw nearer the date of the poll. By killing so many opposition supporters in so-called retribution campaigns, Zanu PF must hope it has planted the seeds of fear in the hearts of the opposition voters: vote for the MDC again and you will be next to go six feet under.
The killings so far have not been as widely condemned by the new peaceniks in the Zanu PF hierarchy as they ought to have been. Not incredibly, there are leaders in the party who believe deeply that its reputation for what most see as gratuitous violence has lost the party so much support even as an opposition it might find itself in difficulties attracting new supporters. The prospect of being in opposition is no longer as outlandish as it might have seemed a few months ago. After the 29 March roasting, the reality is now confronting even the most self-confident of the leaders: they will go the way of UNIP and the Malawi Congress Party in Zambia and Malawi, respectively.
Those parties lost power because, like Zanu PF, they decided to sit on their
laurels as the vehicle through which independence was achieved. Once the
economies in both countries began to deteriorate, largely through corruption and monumental misadministration, the voters decided, quite simply, that they could no longer eat tales of the struggle in place of food. Mugabe, in particular, has convinced many voters that he is happiest regaling them with the tales of heroism in the struggle for independence. His enthusiasm for bringing the fruits of independence to the tables of the voters seems to be half-hearted, as if it was only an incidental detail not to be dwealt on at length.
Tsvangirai, the former trade unionist, knows how bread and butter issues can turn the tide of an election. For him, the preoccupation with colonialism, imperialism and the fascination with the cold war which obsesses Mugabe are worth only idle chatter.
This is another reason why Mugabe ought to be very afraid of Tsvangirai: his
political platform is anchored on the desire for full stomachs all around.
Mail and Guardian said:
29 May 2008 06:28
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will never vacate his office for opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai even if he loses a run-off election next month, his wife said Thursday. Grace Mugabe told followers of her husband's Zanu-PF party that Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would not be allowed to take power under any circumstances.
"Even if people vote for the MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai will never step foot inside State House," she said after meeting victims of political violence that has rocked Zimbabwe since the first round of voting on March 29. "He will only get to hear about what it looks like inside State House from people who have been there. Even if Baba [Mugabe] loses, he will only leave State House to make way for someone from Zanu-PF." The 84-year-old president, who has ruled the former British colony since independence in 1980, is to square off against Tsvangirai on June 27 after an inconclusive first round.
Tsvangirai fell just short of an outright majority on March 29 needed to avoid a run-off, although the MDC wrested control of Parliament from Zanu-PF in a legislative poll that took place at the same time. Grace Mugabe, who is 40 years Mugabe's junior, accompanied her husband to the rural area of Shamva, north-east of Harare, for a tour of a homestead which was allegedly burned down by MDC followers.
"What we saw really touched us. We are not animals but humans. If you burn down someone's house you want to destroy their lives," the president said. "We want to warn the MDC they should stop immediatelty this barbaric camapign of burning and destroying people's homes." While Mugabe has laid the blame for post-election violence at the feet of the MDC, the United Nations and human rights groups say that Zanu-PF has been responsible for the lion's share. The MDC says more than 50 of its supporters have been killed by pro-Mugabe militias since March 29, and tens of thousands displaced, as part of a campaign of intimidation designed to ensure victory for Mugabe on June 27. - AFP
Zim Independent said:
Business
Thursday, 29 May 2008 21:16
ANNUAL inflation for May galloped to 1 700 000% as the Zimbabwean dollar continued to crash causing prices of goods and services to skyrocket. A top official in the Ministry of Finance told business digest that government has now forecast the figure to reach between 1 800 000% and 2 000 000% for the month of May. May inflation rose by 961 396 percentage points from the April figure of 732 604% to 1 694 000%. The 1 694 000% was for the CSOs inflation computations for the period from May 1 to May 23.
Non-alcoholic beverages and cereals continued to be the major drivers. The official said the Central Statistical Office (CSO) had been conducting weekly computations of inflation for the entire month of May. They have computed weekly moving averages on the figure, the official said. Last week the figure was 1 694 000% and this week we expect it to hit 2 000 000%. We will only know next week when they compile data for this final week of May. The annual inflation figure for March stood at 355 000% while that for February was 165 000% but the CSO insists that even these figures were not
official.
As government, our reasonable approximation for June now stands at not less than 4 000 000% and not more than 5 000 000%, the official said. The weekly moving inflation figure for the first week of May was 1 200 000% according to the source. However, CSO acting director Moffat Nyoni disputed the figures this week saying inflation figures for May had not yet been computed. Nyoni insisted that the CSO was experiencing problems with the availability of products which affected the consumer basket used to calculate inflation. He also said the CSO was yet to compute inflation figures for April despite the removal of duty on food imports.
The number of observations we use have been affected, Nyoni said. It has gone down and this affects the strength of our figures which will be very weak. Inflation is nowhere near that figure. We have a time lag and the May data will be available late in June. Nyoni however conceded that the figure for March stood at 355 000% saying it had been leaked. He said the figure was not officially released.
businessdigest broke the story on March inflation figures two weeks ago with Nyoni strenuously denying the figures were true. The March figure was leaked out, Nyoni said. I would not like to comment on your figures. In the past, people have come up with their own baskets and inflation figures. I would not recommend the use of these as they dont pass the test. Economists and the business community said they believed inflation for May would end the month closer to 2 000 000%. It is impossible for inflation to end the month at less than 2 000 000%, said businessman David Govere. Our calculations show that inflation has already surpassed 1 600 000% in recent weeks.
Economist John Robertson said his estimates for May year-on-year inflation had been 1 800 000%. My projections had placed inflation at 1 800 000% for May, Robertson said. It seems I was not far off the mark. Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president Marah Hativagone said the chamber believed the latest inflation figures are accurate. We think they are very approximate, Hativagone said. Whoever is computing those figures must be using what is on the ground. Unlike official CSO figures which are released and far from reality, these figures reflect a basket of commodities that are available.
Inflation has continued to rise steeply on the back of increased money supply, spiraling domestic debt, declining production and scarcities of foreign currency and food. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has been accused of injecting huge and unsustainable amounts of local currency into official circulation causing inflation to skyrocket. Several listed companies whose financial years ended between February 29 and March 31 now face suspension if they fail to release inflation-adjusted results owing to the CSOs failure to release inflation figures. There now appears to be no respite for the general public, as prices of goods continue to rise. Companies have been pushing up their prices in line with the deregulated inter-bank exchange rate.
The Zimbabwean dollar was this week trading at US$1:$620 million, up from US$1:$480 million last week. A loaf of bread which was selling for $180 000 earlier this year is now going for around $280 million in most shops. It is going for between $400 million and $450 million on the black market. A 2kg packet of sugar which was pegged at $7 million is now selling for $700 million. A kilogram of meat which was at $30 million is now selling for between $1,5 billion and $2,5 billion. A 750 grammes bar of soap which at the beginning of the year was $2 million now calls for one to fork out $1,8 billion. In January, a packet of fresh milk was selling at $1,3 million. The same packet now sells for $190 million, while a kilogramme of salt which was selling for less than $2
million is now pegged at $440 million.
Mugabe Can't Stop Winds Of Change.
Jan Raath in Harare said:
President Mugabe has so far seen off his foes with a combination of violence, bribery and treachery. But there is one problem that is impervious to his usual strongarm tactics: Zimbabwe's decrepit economy. The currency crashed unstoppably through a new low this week, passing 1 billion Zimbabwean dollars to £1, after the weekly Zimbabwe Independent quoted officials in the government statistics department as saying that inflation for the first three weeks in May was 1,700,000 per cent.
A fortnight ago the Central Bank introduced a Z$1 billion banknote, as well as a new species of notes called special agrocheques with a top denomination of Z$50 billion. Since in 2006 the Central Bank removed three zeros from the currency, it means that the new note equals the Weimar Republic's highest note of 50 trillion marks, issued at the peak of its hyperinflation in 1924. A pint of beer at Harare's cricket ground is Z$800 million. A 13-amp plug on Tuesday cost me Z$1.3 billion. Photocopying a two-page document came to Z$269 million. The Z$10 million note, introduced at the beginning of the year to reduce the snaking queues outside the banks, will not buy so much as a banana.
The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe estimates that next month the average family of six will need Z$350 billion to provide the basics for survival. This month the basket was Z$100 billion. It is madness, said Jeremiah Mawbe, a minibus driver. I will never get that kind of money. Banks are struggling with the sheer volume of digits. A usinessman supplied the Central Bank with stationery three weeks ago and invoiced it for Z$6 trillion. The bank sent the invoice back and asked for it to be broken down into three different invoices of equal amounts. They said their computer software couldn't deal with so many zeroes, the businessman said. Worse is to come. On Wednesday the Government, which has banned the official issue of inflation figures, announced a pre-election sweetener that included boosting a modest fund meant to provide the extremely poor with medical attention, from the current Z$20 trillion to Z$1.5 quadrillion. In November the annual budget for the entire Government, including the army, air force and police, was Z$7 quadrillion. President Mugabe has an economics degree from the University of London, but appears oblivious to the fact that it is the relentless printing of money that is driving up prices and plunging the currency. He continues to claim, with increasing desperation, that the situation is all part of a well-calculated regime-change agenda by the British.
As the run-off on June 27 between Mr Mugabe and the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, comes closer, the need for paper money for the bankrupt Government will increase to astronomic proportions. It needs to pay for a second election in three months, not just for the election infrastructure but also the costs of provisioning and paying thousands more militia members to subjugate the voters. They're printing money so fast but it's getting to the point that it's not fast enough, John Robertson, a local economist, said. Even the state-run daily Herald newspaper reported this week that shopkeepers were charging up to 30 per cent commission to anyone paying with the Z$50 billion note. This is not real money, a cashier was quoted as saying.
This is alarming news for Mr Mugabe, who depends on a system of patronage paid to a vast network, from the machete-wielding militias to the Joint Operational Command, the committee of senior army, intelligence and police officers that direct the strategy for Mr Mugabe's political survival and their own. The money is becoming valueless, Mr Robertson said. It won't be long before people start saying they don't want it, and I think it will start with the army. I won't be surprised if the generals are already saying, We don't want that rubbish'.
In June last year, the former American Ambassador, Christopher Dell, enraged the Government by forecasting that inflation would reach 1.5 million per cent by the end of 2007. It destabilises everything, he said. By carrying out economically destructive policies, the Mugabe Government is committing regime change on itself. The regime is reaching endgame. At the time, inflation was 4,500 per cent and the Zimbabwean dollar was 400,000 to the £. His forecast may have been precipitate, but not necessarily inaccurate.
Geoffrey Nyarota said:
FOR a man of his advanced age President Robert Mugabe remains remarkably active and ostensibly fit.Closer inspection, however, reveals that while he is actively campaigning for his last presidential election of June 27 advanced age appears to have finally caught up with him. Like the rest of the body, the brain deteriorates with age. At 84 and with 28 years as head of state behind him, Mugabe remains surprisingly in control of his mental faculty, at least during those occasions that he appears on television.
But of late pictures of Mugabe have appeared in the media that reveal a condition that would automatically rule him out as a serious contender for the presidency in a less authoritarian country. In the United States, for instance, presidential candidates are required to pass what is tantamount to a public bill of health. Such serious concerns have been raised about the advanced age of the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting John McCain that his campaign managers were forced to assure the nation that he was still fit not only to campaign but also to assume office as President of the United States of America. They handed over to the Associated Press 1 173 pages of medical documents spanning the period from 2000 to 2008.
This maneuver appears to have effectively put paid, at least in the eyes of Republicans, to any notion that the Arizona senator is not fit to serve as President. At 72 he will become, if elected in November, the oldest first-term President ever elected to serve the United States. McCain reportedly remains at risk for developing new skin cancers. He undergoes a thorough check by a dermatologist every few months. I do not see any worrisome lesions, Dr. Suzanne Connolly concluded after McCains most recent exam, on May 12.
Mugabe was a 12 year-old boy at Kutama School when McCain was born. Unlike his American counterparts, details of whose health make news headlines, the state of Mugabes health has been elevated to the status of a state secret closely guarded by him and those who surround him.
Of late, however, the photographic camera has betrayed the President of Zimbabwe and startling evidence of some of his inner secrets has been captured and disseminated widely.
Take, for instance, the excessively swollen condition of his feet and ankles, as revealed in the picture above which was shot on May 29 as he attended a presidential election campaign rally in Shamva, north of Harare. This must be a cause of serious concern to his physician.
My research into the subject of the swelling of feet was fruitful. It revealed that systemic diseases and conditions are associated with foot and ankle swelling and are characterized by fluid retention or, less commonly, by an increase in thickness of the skin. Diseases of the joints, such as arthritis, can also affect the joints of the ankle and foot, leading to swelling of the involved areas.
Swelling of the extremities can be an indication of underlying chronic conditions, starting from the less frightening such as deep venous thrombosis (better known as blood clots) to the more severe and life-threatening conditions such as congestive heart failure. A reported recent visit to China by Mugabe can only lead to speculation as to where in this spectrum his health currently lies.
The abnormal buildup of fluid in the ankles, feet, and legs is called peripheral edema, or swelling of the lower extremities. This condition can be painless or painful. Apparently the painless swelling of the feet and ankles is a common problem, particularly in older people. The condition may affect both legs and may include the calves or even the thighs. Because of the effect of gravity, swelling is particularly noticeable in these locations.
The following are listed as other common causes of foot, leg, and ankle swelling: prolonged standing, long airplane flights or motorcar rides, overweight and increased age. Among women menstrual periods and pregnancy may also cause swelling. Zimbabweans have nick-named their President Vasco da Gama because of his knack for excessive travel, which has taken him to every corner of the world. The imposition of travel sanctions on Mugabe and his colleagues has done nothing to reduce his penchant for travel to distant lands, mostly in the Far East of late.
He has just returned to Harare from a visit to China where he was reported to have undergone a medical check-up ahead of the gruelling election campaign which he launched immediately upon his return. Surprisingly, starvation or malnutrition may also cause the swelling of feet, medical experts say. It is not conceivable that a Head of State would develop peripheral edema because of starvation while resident in State House, unless there were issues of entirely inappropriate dietary guidelines.
The experts say that swollen legs may, in fact, be a sign of heart failure, kidney failure, or liver failure. In these conditions, there is too much fluid in the body. Heart failure is a life-threatening condition in which the heart can no longer pump enough blood to the rest of the body. Hypertension or high blood pressure is one of the most common causes of heart failure, a disease which is almost always chronic and becomes more common with advancing age. People who are overweight, have diabetes, smoke cigarettes, abuse alcohol, or use cocaine are at increased risk for developing heart failure.
Among the most common symptoms of heart failure are weight gain, swelling of feet and ankles and decreased alertness of concentration.
Apart from swollen feet and ankles Mugabe now appears to have another health issue. His voluble but not particularly commonsensical Information Minister, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, unwittingly let the cat out of the bag about the Presidents failing vision. He said Mugabes sight had deteriorated so much that he could no longer read the newspapers. Apparently Mugabe had complained that his effort to keep himself informed about events in Zimbabwe through reading the state-controlled Herald was frustrated by the small size of the print. Describing the newspapers font as the size of ants, Mugabe, unbelievably, appealed to the minister to advise the editors of the state newspapers to increase the font size for his benefit. Always eager to please, Ndlovu apparently promptly summoned the editors and duly delivered the Presidents message.
We could not believe it when the minister said the President had told him to ask us to increase the size of the font, said one of the editors. We all looked at each other amazed at what he had just said. We could not hold ourselves and openly giggled about it. But Ndlovu was not to be easily deterred. The President clearly said he could not read stories in The Herald. Once when he wanted to read a story on page two about MDC and Zanu-PF he failed. He called me and said Sikhanyiso what is this? The editors respectfully held their ground, pointing out to the Minister that there was nothing they could do about the font size, as it was a worldwide standard and could not be changed.
Notwithstanding his advanced age and deteriorating heath Mugabe appears determined, not only do battle with Movement for Democratic Change president, Morgan Tsvangirai, but to defeat him and manage Zimbabwes affairs of State for the next five years. At 56 Tsvangirai is almost four decades younger than his rival. While no issues have been raised about his health in the United States the campaign of Democratic front-runner Barack Obama was obliged, following the McCain disclosure, to release a one-page letter which declared his health as excellent. Obamas greatest problem is that he is a smoker who has quit but relapsed several times. He was reported to be currently trying again to kick the habit.
NO NEED....!ZANZIBAR-mapinduzi daima, ambaye hauingi mkono mapinduzi matukufu hafai kuchaguliwa kuongoza zanzibar,
zimbabwe- makamanda wa jeshi ni lazima kuunga mkono mugabe, maveterezi wa vita wa mwaka 1980 kamwe mugabe hataondoka.
libya-mwanamapinduzi kama gadafi aachiwe atawale mpaka hamu iishe
uganda- museveni ni mwana halisi wa uganda, hamna haja ya kumpa ukomo wa utawala, atawale mpaka achoke
kenya- hatujui ni ni nani alishinda kibaki au odinga-tume ya uchaguzi
tanzania-tuna uhakika wa kutawala miaka 100-ccm
HIVI KUNA HAJA YA KUPIGA KURA KATIKA CHAGUZI ZA NCHI ZA KIAFRIKA?
ZANZIBAR-mapinduzi daima, ambaye hauingi mkono mapinduzi matukufu hafai kuchaguliwa kuongoza zanzibar,
zimbabwe- makamanda wa jeshi ni lazima kuunga mkono mugabe, maveterezi wa vita wa mwaka 1980 kamwe mugabe hataondoka.
libya-mwanamapinduzi kama gadafi aachiwe atawale mpaka hamu iishe
uganda- museveni ni mwana halisi wa uganda, hamna haja ya kumpa ukomo wa utawala, atawale mpaka achoke
kenya- hatujui ni ni nani alishinda kibaki au odinga-tume ya uchaguzi
tanzania-tuna uhakika wa kutawala miaka 100-ccm
HIVI KUNA HAJA YA KUPIGA KURA KATIKA CHAGUZI ZA NCHI ZA KIAFRIKA?
Wayne Mafaro said:Saturday 31 May 2008
Zim Online
HARARE Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai promised to prosecute ruling ZANU PF party militia accused of committing political violence and human rights abuses if elected president in next months second round presidential election. Tsvangirai starts as favourite to win the June 27 run-off election after polling 47.8 percent of the vote against President Robert Mugabes 43.2 percent in a first round ballot on March 29.
In an address to parliamentarians and local councillors of his Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party, Tsvangirai said there would be no amnesty for perpetrators of political violence, adding that those beating or murdering others because they held a different political view were committing crime and would be prosecuted. There will be no tolerance or amnesty for those who continue to injure, rape and murder our citizens, said Tsvangirai.
We consider these criminal acts, not political acts. Criminal acts will be prosecuted, he added, in remarks likely to harden Mugabe and his allies said to be reluctant to give up power partly because of fear of prosecution for crimes committed while in government. But the MDC leader also appeared to reach out to ZANU PF, calling for a restoration of the party that has been in power since Zimbabwe's 1980 independence from Britain.
"Instead of focusing on what divides us, we must now try to heal our nation. This means that we can even talk about restoring ZANU PF," said the opposition leader who has in the past said he was willing to work with progressive elements in ZANU PF in a future government. Tsvangirai urged his party to seek out those peaceful members of ZANU PF and to cooperate with them where there was convergence of ideas and policy.
He said: "In the spirit of moving the country forward, let us seek out those peaceful members of ZANU PF whose eyes are open to the disastrous state of our nation. Let us listen to their views. Let us invite them where we have policy agreements." The opposition leader however ruled out cooperation with the "violent hawks" in ZANU PF, who he accuses of masterminding political violence and murder against MDC supporters in a bid to intimidate them to vote for Mugabe in the second presidential election. The MDC says at least 50 of its members have been murdered and more than 25 000 displaced in the violence that began immediately it became clear that the opposition party had defeated Mugabes government in the March elections.
ZANU PF denies orchestrating violence and instead blames the MDC of carrying out violence in a bid to tarnish Mugabes name. Looking ahead to a post-election transition, Tsvangirai said his government would launch wide-ranging reforms on the economic, political, security and judicial fronts in effort to get Zimbabwe working again.
The civil service, judiciary, army and police would all be reformed but the opposition leader ruled out a purge of senor officials who served Mugabes government. Tsvangirai also promised to set up a Land Commission to tackle the divisive issue of land ownership and redistribution. Meanwhile MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told ZimOnline that about 20 heavily armed men and dressed in Zimbabwe army uniform beat up his parents and siblings in rural Gutu South constituency as punishment for having voted for the MDC in March.
The armed men who said they were looking for Chamisa and want to kill him proceeded to beat other villagers in the area for electing MDC foreign affairs secretary Elphius Mukonoweshuro as their Member of Parliament. They said they wanted my heart and want to kill me. They beat up my 80-year-old grandmother and then went on to attack the whole village, from ward to ward, said Chamisa. Even Chamisas younger brother still attending primary school was forced to lie prostrate on the ground and heavily beaten, before the gangsters ransacked the Chamisa homestead and took away radios and other electronic gadgets.
ROME (Reuters) - The Italian and U.N. hosts of a U.N. crisis summit on rising food prices on Monday left the presidents of Zimbabwe and Iran off the guest list of a ceremonial dinner for the leaders attending the meeting. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is able to take part in the conference only because an EU travel ban on him does not apply to U.N. forums.
And Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on his first visit to Western Europe as Iranian president, made sure of a frosty welcome by offending Israel on the eve of his departure. Neither was named on the list of guests for the official dinner being given on Tuesday by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for the heads of state attending the June 3-5 summit, Italian media reported. Western ministers said Mugabe was responsible for the food shortages faced by millions in Zimbabwe's shattered economy.
"We will not allow the millions of people who can no longer afford a normal meal to be held hostage by Mugabe," said Dutch Development Minister Bert Koenders. British International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said 4 million Zimbabweans had to rely on food aid because of Mugabe's policies. "This is not a man with any credibility or any contribution to a discussion on international food," he said. The leader of the former British colony arrived in Rome, home of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, late on Sunday, his first official trip abroad since March elections condemned by Western and opposition leaders as fraudulent. Ahmadinejad said before setting off for Rome that Israel would soon disappear off the map, and the "satanic power" of the United States would be destroyed.
Israel's ambassador to Italy, Gideon Meir, said the remarks showed that inviting him to the summit had been "inappropriate." Ahmadinejad's visit has already created a diplomatic headache for Italy and the Holy See after he was said to have requested a meeting with the pope and Berlusconi. The Italian government ruled out a meeting, citing time constraints, and the pope's schedule for the week mentioned no audiences for any of the summit's Heads of state. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Shafer said he would not meet either of the men in Rome.
"We are glad they're here, we appreciate the opportunity for dialogue, but it is our position that we will not meet with them," Shafer said. Britain's Alexander said he would not even shake hands with Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. Inflation in Zimbabwe, once southern Africa's breadbasket, is 165,000 percent, unemployment stands at 80 percent and there are chronic shortages of basic necessities including food and fuel. About 3.5 million people have fled to escape poverty. Mugabe blames Britain for the economic malaise, accusing it of trying to undermine him and reverse his redistribution of white-owned farms to black farmers.
At an FAO gathering in 2005, Mugabe called U.S. President George W. Bush and Britain's then-prime minister Tony Blair "international terrorists," comparing them to Adolf Hitler. (Additional reporting by Katherine Baldwin in London, Phil Stewart in Rome, Emma Thomasson in Amsterdam; Editing by Kevin Liffey)