Free Republic

Refugees from Darfur guard their watering hole from Janaweed attack on their makeshift camp. Picture: Ian Rutherford Key points Helicopter attacks continue as Sudanese government denies involvement Fresh attacks comes as international community pressurises Khartoum Human rights struggle to cope as armed men kidnap aid workers Key quote"Despite a cease-fire signed in April between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups, fighting in Sudan’s Darfur region continues to displace civilians who say they are innocent victims" - UN spokeswoman Story in full SUDANESE government forces and Arab militia have launched a fresh wave of murderous attacks on black African...

Hiding behind a car, his head bleeding, as a terrifying armed band of Robert Mugabe supporters clubbed and stoned people taking part in a peace march in central Harare four years ago, journalist Andrew Meldrum wondered what had happened to the Zimbabwe that promised freedom and liberation. It was something that Meldrum, who was seized by police, driven to Harare airport and illegally expelled in May 2003, had cause to ponder often in 23 years of reporting in Zimbabwe. His book, "Where We Have Hope," is, however, far more than a chronicle of disillusion by an idealistic white American who...

The month of June came and went and so did President Thabo Mbeki's self-imposed deadline for the resolution of the Zimbabwean crisis. The idea of the deadline - set by the President a year ago - was that by June 2004 South Africa would be able to cajole Zimbabwe's leaders towards a political breakthrough. Of course few - possibly including the President himself - took the deadline very seriously. The Zimbabwe crisis is not one of those straightforward problems around which you can casually set deadlines. A further complicating factor is that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe behaves in a manner...

KAYANJE FARM, Zambia - When a truckload of government-sponsored thugs chased Chris Thorne and his family from their wheat and soybean farm in Zimbabwe three years ago, ransacking his home and decrying him as a racist, Thorne was left to wonder whether a white farmer like him could have a future in Africa. Thorne is finding his answer in Zambia. Just north of Lusaka, Zambia's sleepy capital, Thorne is busy felling trees, leveling termite hills and laying irrigation lines to expand his new 7,000-acre tobacco and maize farm. "The opportunities are endless here," says Thorne, a ruddy-faced 56-year-old, who clicks...

AFRICAN foreign ministers have avoided confronting Zimbabwe over its human rights by agreeing not to publish a report slamming Harare's record of abuses. Foreign ministers adopted the report earlier, but they yesterday accepted Harare's word that Zimbabwe's government had not had enough time to see a damning report written by an African Union (AU) body two years ago. This means that the report will not be published and that AU leaders attending this week's summit from today in Addis Ababa will not have an instrument with which to call Harare to task, had they the political will to do so....

This weekend I went out with my wife to watch Spider-Man 2, a movie I was looking forward to since the original Spider-Man. I'm glad to say the movie did not disappoint.Not only was it entertaining, it also brought forth much thought on what the phrase "With great power comes great responsibility" means. This was something told to Peter Parker by his uncle Ben, and is echoed throughout the comic books, and both films, especially the second movie. It is no secret to anyone who has seen the previews that in this film Peter Parker is frustrated and wishes to...

Two of the almost 200,000 Sudanese refugees who fled Arab militiamen into Chad make a dusty trip yesterday at the Koumouangou refugee camp. Many have perished. CAMP IRIDIMI, Chad -- Clouds of sand billow around flimsy shelters that dot the parched and desolate plains. As the wind picks up, women lift the folds of their brilliant pink, blue and green veils to shield their faces from the enveloping dust. Nearly 200,000 terrified villagers have sought sanctuary in one of the most inhospitable areas on Earth, the deserts of Chad, near the border of Sudan. They are some of the more...

Addis Ababa - The African Union has lambasted President Robert Mugabe's government for flagrant human rights abuses. It is Africa's most damning condemnation of Zimbabwe yet. A report adopted by the AU executive council on Saturday slams the government for the arrests and torture of opposition members of parliament and human rights lawyers, the arrests of journalists, the stifling of freedom of expression and clampdowns on other civil liberties. This is the harshest criticism Mugabe has had to bear from his continental peers. The report was adopted on Saturday by the AU's executive council, which comprises foreign ministers of the...

President Robert Mugabe ruled out any new talks with Zimbabwe's opposition on the country's economic and political crisis, citing its alleged ties with Britain, the former colonial power, the state Sunday Mail reported. Addressing a ruling party assembly, Mugabe alleged the Movement for Democratic Change was taking orders from British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his government. Southern African countries that have called for the resumption of dialogue with the opposition "should have realised by now the MDC is an agent of Mr Blair," Mugabe was quoted as saying. "We cannot have serious discussions with the MDC as they don't...

Africa unites to condemn Mugabe's regime By Christopher Munnion in Johannesburg (Filed: 05/07/2004) African nations combined for the first time yesterday to condemn the Zimbabwe government for its "flagrant human rights abuses", signalling a shift in their attitude towards President Robert Mugabe's increasingly repressive regime. The African Union's executive council, meeting in Addis Ababa ahead of this week's conference of 53 heads of state, adopted a report damning Mr Mugabe's regime for the arrests and torture of opposition MPs and human rights lawyers, harassment and arrests of journalists, the stifling of freedom of expression and abuse of civil liberties. African...

IT has been a busy week in the troubled central African nation. The most equal of all comrades announced electoral reforms ahead of next year's parliamentary violence. The reforms will replace the electoral supervisory body appointed by the most equal of all comrades ... with another body appointed by the most equal of all comrades. This display of staggering transparency is meant to bring the troubled central African banana republic into line with guidelines established by the Southern African Disaster Community. Meanwhile the justice for the Zany Party minister pushed a law through parliament allowing police to detain suspects for...

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has approved sweeping electoral reforms because of pressure from his neighbours. Diplomatic sources said regional leaders forced Mugabe to usher in the reforms to avoid embarrassment at next month's key Southern African Development Community summit in Mauritius, where a "SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections" draft will be adopted. The draft encourages SADC member states to "establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable national electoral bodies staffed by qualified personnel, as well as competent legal entities including effective constitutional courts to arbitrate in the event of disputes arising from the conduct of elections". It also says...

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he has survived an assassination attempt. Axe-wielding assailants arrived in six trucks at a meeting Mr Tsvangirai was addressing on Friday in Mvurwi north of Harare, his MDC party says. "Thank God none of them had guns," opposition MDC spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi told BBC News Online. Mr Tsvangirai escaped unhurt but 11 MDC youths were injured as they beat off the attackers, Mr Nyathi said. Treason Parliamentary polls are scheduled to be held next March and the party fears the attack is the beginning of a violent election campaign. Police have not commented...

The morgue in Francistown, Botswana's second-largest city, has been filling up with unclaimed corpses. In January to September this dusty border town buried 36 Zimbabweans who died far from their families, many in pauper's graves. Some died in accidents, others of HIV/ Aids. Dizzy Sebeo, deputy town clerk, tells me the burials have set back the city's modest budget by 16,530 pula ($3,500) so far this year. The municipality has also been splashing out on fuel and per diems for city council members deporting illegals back to Zimbabwe. Botswanans tend to be laid-back people, but Zimbabwe's worsening political-economic crisis, which...

Dear Family and Friends, It is with a very heavy heart and a tear stained face that I sit and write my letter from Zimbabwe this week. Today is my sister's wedding day and I am not able to be there. She is a Zimbabwean in exile and the air fare for my son and I to go her wedding is 10 million dollars. A few months ago my brother got married and I could not afford to go his wedding either. I now have two brothers in law, a sister in law and a niece whom I have never...

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Supporters of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe used axes, clubs and stones to attack a meeting of opposition politicians Thursday, injuring several people, opposition party officials said. Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the Movement for Democratic Change, took shelter in his armor-protected car and was not injured, they said. The violence erupted in Mvurwi, about 60 miles north of Harare, the capital, as about 400 opposition leaders and supporters discussed preparations for parliamentary elections next March. Witnesses said about 200 ruling party ZANU-PF militants attacked the meeting. "It is an exaggeration to say it was an assassination attempt...

ANOTHER serious wheat shortfall looms this year as the area put under the winter crop continues to shrink. In the current season an estimated 60% of between 65,000 and 85,000 hectares that are normally put under irrigated winter wheat has been planted. Information to hand shows that the few remaining white commercial farmers across the country planted around 15 000 hectares and newly-resettled farmers about 25,000 hectares. Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) past president Thomas Nherera said an estimated 40,000 hectares had been put under winter crop with planting coming to an end now. "The area planted is expected to...

Harare - The Zimbabwean government will not be renewing its memorandum of understanding with the World Food Programme (WFP). The memorandum expired on Thursday. The announcement was made despite warnings from international groups that Zimbabwe was facing a shortage of maize and that about 2.5 million people might starve this year. Paul Mangwana, minister of public service, labour and welfare, said in parliament on Wednesday that Zimbabwe didn't need any further donations as the country had a food surplus. "The government knocked on the United Nations' door when we experienced a food crisis. This year, we have surplus grain, which...

The radio crackles in the small office in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, as the few white farmers still left on the land keep in touch. Most white farmers have left the farms since the redistribution programme started The government's four-year land redistribution programme to undo "colonial wrongs" by giving white-owned land to black Zimbabweans has led to violence and death. White farmers are still being forced from their land, and the threats from war veterans and squatters are real, farmers say. "They've told some of my workers that if I don't move out they will kill one of my family,...

JOHANNESBURG, 28 Jun 2004 (IRIN) - Zimbabwean civil society has responded with scepticism to electoral reforms proposed by the government ahead of the general elections next year. According to the official Herald newspaper, President Robert Mugabe's government has accepted the election guidelines drawn up by the South African Development Community (SADC), which recommend that voting take place in a single day, under the supervision of a new "independent" electoral commission. The proposed new Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) will be "independent of government" and replace the current supervisors, including the Registrar General and the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC), the newspaper reported....