Posted on 03/18/2002 9:41:34 AM PST by wwcc
HARARE - A white farmer in Zimbabwe was shot and killed execution style near his homestead Monday. He was the tenth white farmer to be killed since President Robert Mugabe's supporters began illegally taking over white-owned commercial farms two years ago.
Mugabe won his fifth term as Zimbabwe's leader last week. The opposition charges he stole the election, and several independent observer groups have dismissed the March 9-11 elections as undemocratic.
Zimbabwe's opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, said Monday that official figures from the electoral commission showed the MDC received more votes than than those announced and the ruling party less in up to 50 of the 120 voting districts.
South African President Thabo Mbeki and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo met with Mugabe on Monday to discuss the conduct of the election and the country's future.
FROM MARCH 17, 2002: Mugabe returns to power, scoffing at critics
Mbeki and Obasanjo told reporters they asked Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai to work together to rebuild the nation, which is suffering severe food shortages and economic devastation.
"Whatever ordinary people in Zimbabwe have done, voted or not voted, they need to be assisted," said Obasanjo. "They need to be helped. That help may not come unless the leaders of Zimbabwe put their arms together and work together in a way that brings hope in this country."
On Friday, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien said a Commonwealth observer group has confirmed Zimbabwe's election was held in a climate of fear. Chrétien said he will speak with Commonwealth and other leaders before taking any further action against the Mugabe government.
Since Mugabe was declared the winner last week, white farmers have reported an increase in violence.
The Commercial Farmers Union said Terry Ford, 51, was shot dead near Norton, about 30 kilometres west of Harare on Monday. Governing party militants are suspected in the shooting, the CFU said.
Ford called his neighbours late Sunday and reported a group of about 20 settlers were attacking his farm, union spokeswoman Jenni Williams said.
Ford was the first white to be attacked since the election. Mugabe's government plans to redistribute about 4,500 white-owned properties to landless blacks.
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