Posted on 04/10/2002 2:50:36 PM PDT by Clive
PRO-GOVERNMENT war veterans this week stepped up a campaign to seize more land from white farmers by ordering more than 800 farmers in the past week alone to vacate their properties by the end of this month or be forcibly evicted.
War veterans’ leader Andrew Ndlovu said the ultimatums, which are illegal, had been issued to all white farmers still remaining in Mashonaland East province.
He said the ex-combatants were about to complete distributing similar ultimatums to all white farmers in Mashonaland West province.
"We have so far issued ultimatums to more than 800 farmers which includes all farmers in Mashonaland East province. In Mashonaland West we are almost completing giving out the ultimatums," Ndlovu told the Financial Gazette.
He is the projects officer of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, which backs the govern-ment’s seizure of farms without compensation.
The seizures, begun two years ago, are opposed by a rival group of veterans who accuse the association of being composed of fake war veterans and hired thugs.
More than 80,000 workers will lose their jobs if the veterans who use violence and threats of war succeed in evicting the 800 farmers. Up to 300,000 jobs will be lost if the ex-fighters eventually chase away all commercial farmers.
Agriculture Minister Joseph Made, who is in charge of implementing the state’s controversial fast-track land reforms, could not be reached for comment.
Under Zimbabwean law, only Made in conjunction with other government departments can acquire land from farmers for resettlement. The government is required to pay farmers for the improvement on the land it seizes.
Police spokesman Tarwirei Tirivavi said the police were not aware of the illegal threats of eviction being made by the war veterans against farmers.
The Commercial Farmers’ Union, which represents the white farmers, said the campaign to evict the remaining farmers from their land had gathered speed after the disputed March 9-11 presidential election won by President Robert Mugabe.
During the run-up to the discredited poll, Mugabe threatened to expel all the white farmers if he won the ballot because he said they supported the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Ndlovu said after the two provinces of Mashonaland East and West, the veterans would widen the ultimatums to cover all white farmers still owning land in Zimbabwe.
"The farmers have to vacate their farms regardless of whether their farms have been listed for acquisition by the government or not," he said in an interview.
He said the veterans, who have clearly become a law unto themselves, hoped to complete the exercise by the end of this month.
"We are advising all white commercial farmers to leave the farms with immediate effect because the farmers have agitated for sanctions against Zimbabwe. They should go and get compensation money from Britain. If the farmers refuse to go peacefully, we will remove them violently."
Ndlovu said the veterans did not need any government approval for their action because when they first invaded commercial farms in February 2000 they never sought permission from anyone.
The veterans would brook no interference by anyone, including government ministers, in their quest to push the farmers off the land, Ndlovu said.
As wells as an erratic 2000/2001 rainy season, the disruption on farming caused by the farm seizures is largely blamed for causing the current food crisis gripping Zimbabwe.
The country needs to import 1.5 million tonnes of the staple maize to last until the 2002/2003 harvest, but the government has no hard cash to pay for the imports.
An agreement initiated by Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo last year under which Zimbabwe was to re-establish law and order in the country and stop farm seizures in exchange for British funding of the land reforms collapsed because Harare refused to rein in the militant veterans.
Pure insanity.
It probably is and it's been spread to the USA with this "Reparations" shakedown movement that is being touted here.
What you see going on in Rhodesia today is what will eventually happen here.
Yes, all that is left is talented farmers with no land to farm, farm employees without work, and shortly hundreds of thousands of people with no food to eat.
Yeah, I would say it worked out real well. Take a bow social engineers!
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