Posted on 09/08/2001 9:43:32 AM PDT by Clive
Harare - More than 150 land invaders moved onto a farm in Beatrice near Harare on Saturday, Commercial Farmers Union spokesperson Jenni Williams said.
She said in a statement that the invaders had destroyed tobacco seed beds and burnt down the workers' compound.
This follows recent crisis talks in Nigeria aimed at restoring the rule of law with regards to land reform in Zimbabwe.
On Wednesday, the Zimbabwe government said it had accepted an offer by white farmers of nearly one-million hectares to help stem the land dispute.
A day later at a Commonwealth meeting, Zimbabwe agreed to end illegal occupations of white-owned farms in exchange for significant financial assistance from Britain.
However, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has not given his public support for the deals.
Williams said on Saturday that the manager of the Logan Lee farm, Angus Brown, had been in radio contact with members of the Beatrice Farmers' Association, who advised him to leave the property.
She accused the Beatrice police of refusing to respond to a call for help from farmers.
Williams said the invasion started at around 1pm. The settlers were believed to be from a nearby settlement called Tsunga.
The extent of the damage was not known.
Since then, there has been activity in Matabeleland, through which travellers from Beitbridge to Victoria falls would travel.
This activity includes deliberately set veldt fires and an outbreak of foot and mouth disease caused by distruction of fencing which allowed cattle to mix with wild buffalo where the disease is endemic.
Here is an extract from the Commercial Farmers Union September 3 report:
Matabeleland
General - Foot and Mouth disease is being identified on a daily basis with cases now being found in Lupane, Marula, Bulawayo, Umzingwane, Gwanda, West Nicholson and Beit Bridge areas. Fires accidental, and deliberate by farm occupiers are rampant with an estimated 25 % of the commercial farming areas being burnt out. Fires are caused by clearing lands to plough, arson to drive cattle off the farm and to drive game out into the open to hunt.
I would not want to travel through Zimbabwe today and especially, with the veldt fires being set, I would not want to go on hunting or wildlife photographing trips.
While it is unlikely that tourists would be deliberately attacked, there is an increased risk of them becoming collateral damage, especially as some of the farms under attack are in the business of accomodating hunting parties.
Also, veldt fires are dangerous and can quickly get out of control. A veldt fire in South Africa this week killed 19 people.
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