Posted on 11/22/2001 12:26:20 PM PST by Native American Female Vet
Zimbabwe to force residents to carry identity documents at all times
By Michael Hartnack, Associated Press, 11/22/2001 16:02
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) The justice minister announced plans Thursday to force residents to carry identity documents at all times another move to make it easier for the government to crackdown on political opposition.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa also called for one-year jail terms for those who violated such a law, saying it would protect Zimbabwe from terrorism, a term the government has used to describe activities of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change.
The announcement came hours before the scheduled arrival of a 20-member delegation from the European Union, which is considering sanctions against Zimbabwe. The delegation comes amid growing concern over human rights abuses here and a government crackdown on civil liberties.
Chinamasa's plan would nullify a 1997 Supreme Court ruling that struck down a previous law on compulsory identification. New legislation would be almost certain to pass in parliament, which is dominated by President Robert Mugabe's ruling party.
Rural Zimbabwe has spiraled into chaos since March 2000, when ruling party militants began violent occupations of white-owned farms, demanding they be handed over to landless blacks.
With the land reform program causing the near-collapse of the economy, Mugabe's popularity had plummeted.
The EU team, which includes British European Commissioner Chris Patten, was due to arrive Thursday night. The delegation was due to meet Mugabe on Friday morning.
The EU Council of Ministers is considering sanctions on Zimbabwe in response to Mugabe's refusal to guarantee fair elections and the admission of international observers.
Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge described the EU demands as ''futile and thoughtless.''
The EU team will also be discuss Zimbabwe's involvement in Congo's civil war. Zimbabwe has deployed up to 15,000 troops since August 1998 in Congo at ruinous cost to its economy. Army spokesman Col. Mbonisi Ngacheni told state radio Thursday that 4,000 troops had been withdrawn from Congo since April, in accordance with Zimbabwe's commitment to a peace accord brokered in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.
Hmmmm, maybe we should institute the same thing here in the good 'ole US of A. That way anyone who lists "terrorist" on their official papers could just be deported. Great idea!
FP
And I will write my congressmen and senators to block any relief efforts. Let them starve to death.
But that is not PC. According to the anti-colonialist PC propaganda, all people have the right to get rid of benign colonial government evne if it means misrul by local tyrants.
misrul = misrule
Can we staple this article to the forehead of everyone who thinks that a national ID card is a great idea for the United States?
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