Mugabe Defends Land Seizure Program

AP via The Las Vegas Sun ^ | September 26, 2003 | PRISCILLA CHEUNG

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Zimbabwe's embattled President Robert Mugabe on Friday defended his country's seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to blacks, a program widely blamed for his country's political and economic crises.

In his address at the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting, Mugabe said the program "is yielding tangible benefits to the vast majority of our people."

Under the program, white-controlled farms are being taken, often through violence, and redistributed to blacks.

Mugabe has said the seizures, which began three years ago, are an effort to correct colonial-era injustices that gave about 4,000 whites about one-third of the country's productive land in a country of more than 12 million people.

"There is a new sense of empowerment ... yielding a happy sense of ownership, which has brought thousands upon thousands of hitherto marginalized families back into the economic mainstream," he said.

Human rights activists claim that much of the seized land was used to reward Mugabe supporters instead of landless blacks.

Mugabe, Zimbabwe's only leader since he led the nation to independence from British rule in 1980, faces increasing international isolation after being re-elected last year in polls largely considered rigged.

He has stepped up a crackdown on the opposition and the independent press. The key opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, is standing trial for treason, and the only independent daily, The Daily News, was banned last week.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

"There is a new sense of empowerment ... yielding a happy sense of ownership, which has brought thousands upon thousands of hitherto marginalized families back into the economic mainstream," he said.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

ping

[wizardoz]

Aren't 2,000,000 Zimbabweans starving? Or did they finally go ahead and die?

[cyborg]

He's a bald faced LIAR. I reference two articles one published by National Geographic this Sept (or was it August?) and also Men's Journal by a reporter in the country illegally.

He made promises to people for seed,fertilizer and petrol... and have renegged on everything. Mugabe should drop dead. Sooner rather later.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Mugabe is as much an example of what evil looks like, as Hussein was.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

that gave about 4,000 whites about one-third of the country's productive land in a country of more than 12 million people.

Has anyone noticed that this 1/3 of the land was many times more productive that the other 2/3's? Or that many of the tribes there now were not there when the whites came? Or that the place is falling apart and the population starving?

This is not just the problem of tribalism that the rest of Africa has, it is that this government is evil.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

The land invasion effectively ended productive commercial farming. Without the commercial farmers growing the food, the war vets and others in Mugabe's circle of friends, are sitting on land that isn't being used for agriculture. The people are starving, while their natural resources are lying dormant.

Mugabe and his ilk are truly evil, and be certain that they do not know what hunger feels like.

[1066AD]

he led the nation to independence from British rule in 1980
British rule ended in 1965 with Ian Smith's "UDI" (Unilateral Declaration of Independence). As soon as the ten year accords expired in 1990 he tried to declare a one party state but was defeated at the polls. Mugabe is a marxist thug, no more no less.

[elbucko]

I asked friend of mine, an attorney, who recently returned from his annual hunting safari to Africa, if the Africans will ever be able to rule themselves? His answer was, No! The amount of corruption and thievery that they perpetuate upon one another, will always preclude their own self-government. Sad, very sad.

[Clive]

ping

[Clive]

The figure is closet to 6.5 million which is over half the population of Zim.

[Walkingfeather]

ONE BULLET

[Mr. Jeeves]

Mugabe sounds a lot like Peter Camejo during the last debate.