Government set up Mugabe assassination sting, Zimbabwe opposition leader says

dailynews.yahoo.com ^ | February 14, 2002 | ANGUS SHAW, AP

[Cincinatus' Wife]

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's main opposition leader said Thursday he broke off contact with a Canadian political consultancy firm after it first proposed a plot to "eliminate" President Robert Mugabe.

An official at the firm, Dickens and Madson (Canada) Inc., said Wednesday that Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai had hired them to help kill or overthrow Mugabe.

The firm said it had secretly videotaped a meeting with Tsvangirai about the plot. Grainy footage of the meeting was broadcast on Australian television Wednesday night and details of the report have been widely publicized in Zimbabwe's state media.

The firm had worked for the government for several years, but the opposition apparently was unaware of that, the firm said in its statement accusing Tsvangirai Wednesday.

Tsvangirai said Thursday his party recently learned Dickens and Madson was hired by the head of Zimbabwe's secret intelligence organization and a senior government information official to discredit the opposition.

The government has yet to comment on the allegations against Tsvangirai. Under security laws passed last month acts of "insurgency, banditry, sabotage or terrorism" carry a penalty of life imprisonment.

Tsvangirai's candidacy in March 9-10 presidential elections poses the greatest challenge to Mugabe's 22-year rule since Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980. Mugabe has become increasingly unpopular amid the collapse of his country's economy and political violence against opposition supporters.

In a statement Thursday, Tsvangirai denied Dickens and Madson's claims the opposition approached the firm to assassinate Mugabe.

He said the firm used a former Zimbabwean based in South Africa to present an offer to improve the opposition's image abroad. Four meetings were held with the firm.

"At no stage during the first three meetings was the issue of elimination or assassination ever discussed," Tsvangirai said.

The meetings focused on the need "to bridge the communications gap abroad."

At the fourth meeting, secretly filmed in Montreal, Ben-Menashe and his team "raised the issue of elimination and kept on asking strange questions."

Tsvangirai said he became suspicious of the firm's motives and walked out. The opposition later found out Ben-Menashe had been hired by top Zimbabwean officials "to set up the MDC," he said.

Ben-Menashe said Wednesday that at two meetings in London Tsvangirai raised the subject of assassinating Mugabe and arranging a coup d'etat.

Ben-Menashe said he had an audio tape of one of those meetings, but refused to allow a reporter from The Associated Press to listen to it.

The surveillance tape, aired Wednesday on SBS television's "Dateline" program, showed an aerial view of four men sitting around a boardroom table. The black-and-white picture was grainy and the faces of the men - including the one identified as Tsvangirai - were largely obscured.

"The MDC, represented by the top man who's sitting here right now, commits to ... the coup d'etat or the elimination of the president," Ben-Menashe said on the tape.

During the meeting, the man identified as Tsvangirai expressed concern the military might take over if Mugabe was "eliminated."

Ben-Menashe on Wednesday denied accusations his firm had framed Tsvangirai.

Ben-Menashe, who has claimed to be a former Israeli intelligence agent, was acquitted by a U.S. federal jury in 1990 of charges he illegally arranged a dlrs 36 million deal to sell U.S.-made military cargo planes to Iran in exchange for the release of four American hostages in the Middle East.

Zimbabwe has been wracked by political violence over the past two years that human rights workers, opposition officials and international observers blame mainly on ruling party thugs' efforts to intimidate opposition supporters in advance of the election.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Ari Ben-Menashe

Heard this name before:

Ari Ben-Menashe appeared three times in the first show, highlighted as an Israeli intelligence officer. PBS reported that "Israeli intelligence officer Ari Ben-Menashe says he was one of half a dozen Israelis sent to Paris at Casey's request to help coordinate arms deliveries" and "Israeli intelligence officer Ari Ben-Menashe claimed that he saw intelligence reports about Casey's trip to Madrid." After Newsweek and The New Republic published their exposés of the sources pushing the October Surprise story, including the fact that Ben-Menashe's wife called him a liar, Frontline's second program admitted: "His credibility with reporters collapsed because some of his assertions proved implausible, particularly his claim about George Bush."

from: http://www.mediaresearch.org/news/mediawatch/1992/mw19920501jca.html

And more if you search.

Regards

posted on 2/13/02 12:19 PM Pacific by fromnovascotia

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The government has yet to comment on the allegations against Tsvangirai. Under security laws passed last month acts of "insurgency, banditry, sabotage or terrorism" carry a penalty of life imprisonment.

Not only is Mugabe blocking a fair election and using terror squads to round up and torture
opposition leaders, now he's using a proven liar (Ari Ben-Menashe) to imprison his presidential opponent under an act passed last month.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

EU to Deploy Election Observers [Excerpt] The government has officially accredited 26 European observers but refused to recognize Pierre Schori, Sweden's ambassador to the United Nations, as head of the mission.

The government also has said it would not accredit other Swedish observers or representatives from Britain, Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler, Denmark, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands.

The government has accused those countries of bias in favor of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. No observers from those countries had arrived in Zimbabwe by Thursday other than Schori and his spokesman, Stefan Amer……………..

The state-run Herald newspaper, seen to reflect official policy, said Wednesday Schori was welcome to stay as a tourist to view the nation's wild animals or its polling stations.

"Those tourists who have a passion for watching elections are just as welcome as those who want to look at elephants," The Herald said.

But they would not be allowed into polling stations or counting halls, it said.

It was not clear what action could be taken against Schori if he continues to run the observer mission.

The EU has threatened sanctions against Zimbabwe, demanding free and fair elections and unhindered access for observers and international journalists.

Sanctions could mean a ban on travel to Europe for Zimbabwean officials or on certain exports. They could also take the form of freezing Zimbabwean bank accounts and other assets in the EU member nations.

Political violence has intensified ahead of the presidential vote in which Mugabe, 77, and his increasingly unpopular ruling party face opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, 49.

The opposition narrowly lost to Mugabe's party in parliamentary elections in June 2000, a vote also marred by political violence.

Schori headed the EU observer delegation to those polls. He said the vote was not free and fair, citing the violence and intimidation - mainly against opposition supporters. [End Excerpt]

[technochick99]

now he's using a proven liar

Wouldn't it just be easier to send in the thugs to off the opponent?

sigh...

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Wouldn't it just be easier to send in the thugs to off the opponent?

I think he knows Tsvangirai will win if international help comes his way.
From his deeds, it's obvious his reelection is in trouble.
Mugabe got in by the skin of his teeth, with a little "help" from his friends, in the last election.
With this accusation, that just happens to fall under his new law, he might have a way to take Tsvangirai out
"legally" or discredit him before the electorate. It might look bad if he just killed him.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

A resident of Harare reads the newspaper The Herald while sitting beneath election posters for President Robert Mugabe February 14, 2002. The state controlled paper is claiming that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai plotted an assassination attempt on Mugabe. The two leaders face off in presidential elections in March. Mugabe's government gave 30 EU team members approval to observe next month's elections but was still locked in a row over the accreditation of team leader Pierre Schori of Sweden. Photo by Howard Burditt/Reuters

[backhoe]

AfricaWatch:

AfricaWatch: for AfricaWatch articles. 

Other Bump Lists at: Free Republic Bump List Register

[Cincinatus' Wife]

WOW! that's spot on!

[backhoe]

The only other graphic that I could think of that would be appropriate would be some kind of locust plague, but the skull & crossbones seemed to fit. Poison...

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!

[backhoe]

Where is that dern graphic?

Well! Dead links!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

What are you up to?

[backhoe]

That was a bouncing letter graphic than spelled bump... haven't used it in a while, guess it's dead!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Too bad. Maybe the source is down for awhile.