Posted on 08/16/2002 1:41:37 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Despite the obstacles, Justice for Agriculture says it has no choice but to contest the evictions in Zimbabwe's courts. "We can only have the moral high ground if we continue to do the usual when faced with the insane or unusual," Williams said.
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - While Zimbabwe's white farmers waited nervously last week to be thrown off their land, an unexpected court ruling appeared to save many of them by invalidating hundreds of eviction orders.
But like so many other court rulings, this one was completely ignored by President Robert Mugabe's government, and top Cabinet ministers have continued to demand farmers immediately leave their land.
"It isn't surprising," said Jenni Williams, spokeswoman for the white farmers group Justice for Agriculture. "In the past, (officials) have just paid lip service to the laws, and on the ground it has absolutely made no difference."
Since political violence mainly blamed on government supporters began in 2000, Zimbabwe's once respected judiciary has been utterly marginalized.
The government has ignored a raft of rulings it dislikes and pressured judges it considers critical of its policies to resign. Most other judges have stopped ruling against the government, local legal observers said.
"The independence of the judiciary is gone," said Lovemore Madhuku, head of the National Constitutional Assembly, which is fighting for constitutional reform in Zimbabwe. "I think some judges genuinely fear for their lives."
In the past few months, a court decision throwing out new election laws was brushed aside, a foreign journalist was ordered deported minutes after being acquitted of violating media laws and the justice minister simply ignored his three-month jail sentence for contempt of court.
Efforts to suppress the judiciary began more than two years ago, when the government outlined its plans for seizing white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks and sanctioned ruling party militants' often violent occupation of many of those farms.
The courts repeatedly ordered the government to remove the militants from the farms and restore law and order. The government refused, saying land redistribution was a political, not legal, issue.
"The courts can do what they want. They are not courts for our people and we shall not even be defending ourselves in these courts," Mugabe said at the time.
In November 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that the government's land seizure plan was illegal and unconstitutional.
Soon after, hundreds of thugs from Mugabe's ruling party stormed the court, dancing behind the judges' benches and chanting, "Kill the judges." Police stood by, and no one was arrested.
FILE--Supporters of Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU (PF) party march through central Harare shortly after they stormed into the Supreme Court, delaying a hearing on the government's illegal seizure of white-owned farms, in this Nov. 24, 2000 file photo. Since political violence mainly blamed on government supporters began in 2000, Zimbabwe's once respected judiciary has been utterly marganilized. (AP Photo)
Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay was forced into early retirement last year after the government said it could not guarantee judges' safety. Several other critical judges were also replaced with ruling party loyalists.
"Any judge who has been brave enough to take positions against government institutions has been harassed and intimidated into resigning," said Ashwin Trikamjee, a member of the International Bar Association's human rights institute.
Now, on the rare occasions now when the courts rule against the government, it is usually in cases too obvious to have been decided any other way, many local lawyers said.
The government has ignored those rulings anyway.
In February, the Supreme Court overturned new election laws the opposition said disenfranchised their supporters and made vote rigging easier.
The government called the ruling "a rotten fish," and days later, Mugabe reinstated the laws with a presidential decree. Under those laws, he was declared the victor in March elections that many international observers condemned as intentionally biased to ensure his victory.
Despite the obstacles, Justice for Agriculture says it has no choice but to contest the evictions in Zimbabwe's courts.
"We can only have the moral high ground if we continue to do the usual when faced with the insane or unusual," Williams said.
January 2002 - New Laws Give President Mugabe Sweeping Powers (Election laws) Illegal to criticize Mugabe*** - Zimbabwe's Parliament Thursday passed two controversial bills, which critics say will give President Robert Mugabe sweeping powers to clampdown on the opposition ahead of the March presidential elections.
Opposition legislators immediately described the passing of the bills as ''evil'' and even sought divine intervention when they held a loud prayer for Zimbabwe to be ''delivered from the hand of catastrophe''. But there was no divine help. Sitting as a majority, the ruling party legislators passed the Public Order and Security Bill (POSB) and the General Laws Amendment Bill. The Public Order and Security Bill replaces the colonial Law and Order Maintenance Act, a 1960s law made to repress black nationalists. Though designed to curtail acts of insurgency, banditry, sabotage and terrorism, Brian Raftopplous, a political analyst, says the bill is ''equally draconian as the one it seeks to replace.''
The bills were passed as Army generals Wednesday vowed that they will not recognize the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai, should he win the March presidential elections. Tsvangirai Thursday described the statement as unfortunate and said the army had announced a ''de facto coup''.…. The army's statement came only a few days after all uniformed forces were awarded a 100-percent salary increment.
The Security bill makes it illegal to criticize President Mugabe who has ruled the southern African country for 21 years. The bill also bans public gatherings and demonstrations and gives the police excessive powers to arrest and detain perceived opponents. It also demands that citizens carry national identity cards on their person, a requirement strikingly similar to the colonial period. Changes to the Electoral Act under the General Laws Amendment Bill will result in millions of Zimbabweans living in neighboring countries being prevented from voting.
Next Tuesday, Parliament will convene to introduce a third bill pushing for tight controls on the media. Journalist unions say the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill is harsh piece of legislation which will curtail the freedom of the press. Britain's International Development Secretary, Clare Short, has described the current state of political affairs in Zimbabwe as ''a tragedy of enormous proportions''.***
Bump!
...however, my ISP has been rejecting emails since 2:00 PM yesterday, so anyone inclined to take up the slack-- Go here:
Ignorance Making You Ill? Cure It!
for links, tools, & instructions about how to contact a pile of different people, and how to send a link to this story right here ( or anywhere else ) to a "mass email" using Outlook Express.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.