BS: Should we care about Africans?

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Barry Finn
Date: 07 Apr 07 - 09:53 AM

Although this thread was titled about the plight of Africans & is focused on Zimbabwe and it's president, Mugabe & his awful rule there are other African nations that are also in need of disprate help. Not to take away from Zimbabwe's cry. AIDS is crippling the the economies of many countries along with drought. Corruption in many of the African's nation are also kiiling it's people & starving them off. Some of these nations are very wealthy in resources but are being raped by foriegn companies that are taken all they can from the land & sea without paying more than a pitence to those that are in power while the rest go bare. For sure it is an African problem that should be dealt with by a joint African congress but all resources, infulences should be given to a congress that askes for it if they are seen to be just & fair in their dealings with these problems & a joint effort should be brought to bare on all who'd oppose this congress.
The only draw back is that it does not seem to be a big enough problem for nations that presently have industries that profit in what's happening to Africa & why help if it's gonna cost far more than what other wise would amount to a handout.
Should we care, of course, can we afford to care, yes. Do we care or care to to care, I don't think so, not until it directly effects US, as usual. We may put forth a showing effort but if we invested more & did it for the right reasons we could take some of our value in the pride of seeing millions of Africans survive and this says nothing of our lack of motovation in putting an end to the dictorships that are commiting genocide.
Should we care yes, do we care? Not enough it seems.

Barry

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:23 PM

Zimbabwe's rural dwellers brace for food shortages by Susan Njanji
Fri Apr 6, 10:08 AM ET



BIKITA, Zimbabwe (AFP) - Winnie Mupunga normally produces 40,000 kilogrammes (40 tonnes) of the staple corn cereal on her smallholding in southwestern Zimbabwe but this year she does not expect to harvest even 500.

"This is all I have to show for the past year," she said pointing to acres of emaciated metre-long brown maize stalks bearing tiny cobs or nothing at all.

"We'll just have to rely on handouts this year."

Zimbabwe, formerly the regions breadbasket, has been hit by a drought in several of its 10 provinces which has served to compound the hardship of a nation already reeling under the effects of a 1,730 percent inflation rate.

Bikita district, 400 kilometres (250 miles) southwest of the capital in Masvingo province is one of the areas worst affected by the drought.

A few kilometres from the Mupunga homestead reside Ngwarai and Mabel Zevezanayi, a couple in their late fifties who are responsible for the upkeep of nine dependents, among them five grandchildren aged under 12 years.

But all they have left is 20 kilogrammes of sorghum donated by an international relief agency operating in the area.

"We have no produce to talk about this year," said Mabel.

There is no news of when next they are lined up for handouts.

And the largest foreign food relief agency operating in the country, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP), announced this week that it was scaling down aid to Zimbabwe starting April.

WFP fed some 1.5 million most vulnerable people over the past three months, the most critical time of the year dubbed the pre-harvest "lean season" when poor families routinely struggle to find enough to eat.

"With the annual harvest due in April, WFP is scaling down its aid operations in Zimbabwe from this month, reducing the number of beneficiaries to 256,000 in April," said the agency in a statement.

Meantime, the Zevezanayi family, with no other source of income, resorts to brewing traditional beer with part of the donated grains so it can make a bit of money for other essentials.

"We are brewing this beer to sell. Maybe we can get some cash to pay for the milling of the little grain we have left," said Mabel of the sorghum she is so sure will not last her family even a week.

To save the meagre grains, the family skips meals.

"We dont even remember what breakfast tastes like. It's only the children who have anything before they go off to school -- a few peanuts and some tea without any sugar," she added as she spooned some sorghum porridge into the hungry mouth of her four-month-old grandson.

"I can hardly sleep when I try to think of where I will get food for my family."

In the previous two drought years, she had chickens which she could either sell or slaughter for her family to eat but the poultry has now all gone.

Down the road at Masarira primary school, about 30 children receive a daily ration of beans and starch-based cereals during their mid-morning break. For some it is the only meal they will have in the day, said headteacher Zvinavashe Takabvirakare.

"When we have no food stocks, we experience numerous cases of pupils fainting in class" as a result of hunger, he said.

"Unless there is food aid, I think this time it's going to be very difficult for the children.

"The drought has been persistent for about four years and now, coupled with the harsh economic conditions, it's worse."

When the food shortages are severe, on average 10 percent of the 470 pupils drop out, but in the kindergarten section, not even half bother to walk several kilometres back and forth on an empty stomach.

Authorities and aid agencies are yet to study the full impact of the drought but the opposition has warned that the country will fall 1.3 million tonnes short of its food needs this year.

The government has admitted food will run out in parts of the country, but said the shortages will not be critical.

"The situation is really not very serious to say there will be a crisis," Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said Tuesday.

The cash-strapped government has already started importing grain to avert starvation.

Finance Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi last month spoke of plans to import about 400,000 tonnes of maize to make up for a possible food shortfall.

Bikita district chief Johnston Mupamhadzi said: "It's going to be bad, this is the worst drought" in recent years.

"We really need assistance because the district has not produced enough for the past four years," he said.

Zimbabwe is already saddled with economic crisis characterised by a four-digit rate of inflation, unemployment of around 80 percent and chronic shortages of basic foodstuffs like cooking oil, sugar and foreign currency.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Mike Miller
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 09:51 AM

My God, MSU is considering thinking about decertifying Mugabe's degreee. Wow, that'll get his attention. Without his degree, he will have to take a minimum wage job at Walmart and he won't have time to victimize Zimbabwe.
If that doesn't work, we can, always, hit him with a chorus of "Kumbaya". Well, I guess that is better than wringing our hands and admitting our inability to fight evil wherever it rears its ugly head.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 07:25 AM

Nice to see effective action taken...


Universities may rescind Mugabe's honorary degrees
POSTED: 3:13 a.m. EDT, April 6, 2007

Story Highlights• UMass, Michigan State, University of Edinburgh gave Zimbabwe leader degrees
• Honorary degrees go to world leaders, renowned scholars and writers
• Mugabe once hailed as humane revolutionary who ended oppressive white rule
• Now, seen as tyrant who crushes opposition, oversees Zimbabwe's disintegration

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts (AP) -- Since 1885, the University of Massachusetts has awarded nearly 2,000 honorary degrees to world leaders, renowned scholars and writers.

Now for the first time, the university is considering taking one back -- from Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe.

When Mugabe received an honorary doctorate of law from the UMass-Amherst campus in 1986, he was hailed as a humane revolutionary who ended an oppressive white rule to establish an independent Zimbabwe in 1979. But in the two decades since, Mugabe has been condemned for attacks on dissidents and accused of running a corrupt government that has ruined the economy.

Some UMass students at the Boston campus have circulated a petition asking for the university to revoke Mugabe's degree, and officials say they're considering doing so.

Michigan State, U. of Edinburgh also concerned
The issue also has surfaced at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and Michigan State University, which gave Mugabe honorary degrees in 1984 and 1990, respectively.

Terry Denbow, a Michigan State spokesman, said administrators have received letters requesting that Mugabe's degree be rescinded.

"There have been discussions, but I know of no formal process for rescinding the degree," Denbow said, adding that Michigan State has stopped its study abroad program in Zimbabwe.

Officials at Edinburgh said the issue of Mugabe's degree was under review.

According to UMass policy, honorary degrees are handed out to people "of great accomplishment and high ethical standards." Recipients have included Nelson Mandela, former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, author Toni Morrison and comedian and educator Bill Cosby.

Mugabe 'has become a scourge of Africa'
Once lauded as a model for African democracy, Mugabe has tried to crush opposition to his power and has threatened to expel Western envoys for criticizing his government.

Zimbabwe has the world's highest inflation rate and suffers from shortages of food, hard currency, gasoline and essential imports. The country's Roman Catholic bishops said last month that health, education and other public services "have all but disintegrated."

"Mugabe has become a scourge of his people and a scourge of Africa," said Michael Thelwell, a professor in the UMass Afro-American studies department. "He has degenerated as a political leader and as a human being."

Thelwell was one of the professors who encouraged the school to award Mugabe an honorary degree in 1986.

"They gave it to the Robert Mugabe of the past, who was an inspiring and hopeful figure and a humane political leader at the time," he said. "The university has nothing to apologize for in giving a degree to the Robert Mugabe of 20 years ago. And they wouldn't imagine giving an honorary degree to the Robert Mugabe of today."

But Thelwell and others cautioned against revoking the degree just to appease Mugabe's critics.

"The task of intellectuals is to seek the truth, not to be swayed by pressures of the moment," said Bill Strickland, a UMass politics professor. "If they take away the degree, they have to look at all the facts surrounding what is happening in Zimbabwe and not simply blame just one person."

Bill Wright, a spokesman for UMass president Jack Wilson, said university officials and trustees were "just in the discussion phase" about what to do with Mugabe's degree.

If they decide they want to withdraw the honor, it is not likely to happen anytime soon. While the university has a detailed procedure for awarding the degrees, there is no process for taking one back.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 05 Apr 07 - 11:51 AM

Washington Post:

Mugabe's Enablers

By Arnold Tsunga
Thursday, April 5, 2007; Page A17

When the heads of state of the Southern African Development Community convened last week in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to discuss the political situation in Zimbabwe, hopes among the Zimbabwean people ran high. President Robert Mugabe had recently extended his brutal efforts to crush dissent from his political opponents to include ordinary Zimbabweans. His ruling party left a trail of fractured bodies and two dead in its most recent crackdown.

With the economy in shreds and the tense political situation posing a security threat not only to Zimbabwe but potentially to its neighbors, too, there was an expectation that African leaders would finally act.

At the summit, however, the African leaders showed their indifference to the suffering that we ordinary people of Zimbabwe continue to endure. At the closing news conference, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete announced that he and his fellow heads of state were "in support of the government and people of Zimbabwe."

"We got full backing; not even one [SADC leader] criticized our actions," Mugabe boasted after the summit.

Zimbabweans were left to wonder how neighboring governments can continue claiming to support the brutalizer and the brutalized at the same time.

As Mugabe's government continues its assault on the media, its political opponents, civil activists and human rights defenders, the danger to the population is growing. Nearly two years after the government's program of mass evictions and demolitions -- Operation Murambatsvina, or "Clear the Filth" -- hundreds of thousands continue to suffer catastrophic consequences.

In hindsight, we can see that this scheme was just the beginning. Mugabe sought to destabilize the population by arbitrarily destroying people's homes and property without notice, process or compensation; and by displacing thousands into rural areas, where they lack basic services such as health care, schools and clean water. Today, HIV-AIDS is rampant in my country, and there are acute food shortages. Young Zimbabweans have no meaningful educational opportunities, and Mugabe has wrecked the country's economy through macroeconomic chaos, endemic corruption and political patronage. Millions of black Zimbabweans who love their country have been forced to migrate out of this insecurity and hopelessness to live as second-class citizens in foreign lands.

Last month, Human Rights Watch documented how police forces in Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare have beaten Zimbabweans in the streets, in shopping malls and in bars. The terror has prompted many families in those areas to obey a self-imposed curfew after dark.

Mugabe is stronger than ever, though removed from the fact that Zimbabweans want to be liberated from oppression. Of course, a weakened and terrified population cannot fight back.

With Mugabe poised to rig five more catastrophic years in office, it is time for regional leaders to recognize that his campaigns of oppression make apartheid Rhodesia and South Africa look like amateurs. As Bishop Desmond Tutu has said, we as Africans must hang our heads in shame at our failure to make a difference to the suffering men, women and children of Zimbabwe.

When will Southern Africa's leaders decide they will no longer align themselves with tyranny? When will they abandon their failed strategy of "quiet diplomacy" and move to help the people of Zimbabwe?

African leaders and the international community must demand that the government of Zimbabwe stop its violence against political opponents; create a democratic environment through the repeal of repressive legislation; enact a democratic constitution; and hold free, fair elections that are supervised by the international community.

If Southern Africa's leaders finally break their silence about the catastrophe in their neighborhood, this could be the year Mugabe leaves office and Zimbabwe reintegrates itself into the world. Or they could remain silent and complicit, and this year could mark the beginning of an even steeper decline into oppression.

The writer is executive director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and secretary of the Law Society of Zimbabwe.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 05 Apr 07 - 10:59 AM

Bodies cleared away as Mogadishu fighting calms
POSTED: 4:01 a.m. EDT, April 5, 2007

Story Highlights• Workers recover the dead as fighters, soldiers observe cease-fire
• Residents skeptical of truce, hundreds packing up and leaving
• At least 400 killed in heaviest fighting in Somalia in 15 years
• Ethiopian troops help Somali soldiers trying to rout Islamic insurgents

MOGADISHU, Somalia (Reuters) -- Workers carried the dead from the rubble of battle in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, moving amid fighters observing a cease-fire residents say is so tenuous many are gathering their belongings to leave.

In a third day of a truce after some of the heaviest fighting in the coastal capital in 15 years, Ethiopian and Somali government troops faced off less than 20 meters (66 feet) away from insurgents belonging to the dominant Hawiye clan and a defeated militant Islamist group.

Four workers, helped by the Red Crescent society, dredged through the wreckage of the four-day battle under a deal between the Hawiye and the Ethiopians to end the fighting that killed at least 400 people and allow for the recovery of corpses.

"We found one body at the gate of Mogadishu Stadium, and then we moved on and found more bodies. At the end, we collected 25 bodies," witness Abdi Dhaqane Iye said.

The dead included women, children and the elderly. Those charged with the grim task said they expected to find more. One old man lay in the road, his body crushed and branded with the mark of tank tread.

"If you had been there, you would not eat food for the next three days. The smell was overwhelming," Iye said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said the wounded numbered nearly 900, and the toll may be higher because many had not reached the hospital. The humanitarian group said it planned to start re-supplying hospitals on Thursday.

International diplomats meeting under the auspices of the International Contact Group on Somalia late on Tuesday urged a comprehensive cease-fire to stop the bloodshed, and also pressed the government to carry out an inclusive reconciliation.

President Abdullahi Yusuf's interim government is due to hold a national reconciliation conference in Mogadishu on April 16, but many doubt it will go ahead because of insecurity.

His administration is the 14th attempt at imposing central rule on the Horn of Africa nation, in anarchy since warlords including Yusuf helped topple Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Exodus of residents, skeptical of truce
Residents by the hundreds raced into their homes to take advantage of the lull in the fighting which shattered whole neighborhoods with indiscriminate tank, rocket and artillery fire, and drew international condemnation.

The joint Ethiopian-Somali interim government offensive was intended to wipe out an insurgency that has targeted them and rocked the city with almost daily attacks since a hardline Islamist movement was ousted in a war over the New Year.

At least 100,000 people have fled Mogadishu since February.

"I went back this morning and collected what was remaining at my home. I don't trust the truce. The fighting might start at any minute," trader Dahir Ali, 45, told Reuters as he raced to get out with hundreds of other residents.

The exodus of refugees has strained limited resources in the places where the fleeing have landed, and aid groups fear clashes could erupt over food, water and housing -- prices for all of which have skyrocketed.

Even in Mogadishu, people complained of higher prices and extortion. The price of a litre of gasoline had almost tripled to 28,000 Somali shillings ($1.71) after the fighting ended on Sunday, residents said.

Truckers who keep their vehicles in a garage in one of the pro-insurgent neighbourhoods complained of having to pay government soldiers bribes.

"We had to pay 500,000 shillings to get the trucks out because we couldn't get them during the fighting," Abdisalan Yusuf Osman, 40, said, adding that the two AK-47 assault rifles he keeps in the cab were also taken.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Ross
Date: 04 Apr 07 - 05:16 AM

That could explain everything

If you were cynical

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Stu
Date: 03 Apr 07 - 10:18 AM

Should we care about Africans?

Of course, we are all Africans - Africa is the birthplace of man.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 03 Apr 07 - 08:10 AM

National strike begins in Zimbabwe
POSTED: 6:35 a.m. EDT, April 3, 2007
Story Highlights• Two-day strike called by unions to protest deepening economic hardships
• Police reaction force, water cannon trucks deployed in potential trouble spots
• Police spokesman says planned strike has been declared illegal
• Strike comes amid political crisis after opposition leaders beaten by police
Adjust font size:
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Zimbabwean police and troops fanned out through impoverished townships Tuesday on the first day of a two-day national strike called to protest deepening economic hardships blamed on the government.

Police manned roadblocks across the capital. Four trucks carrying soldiers were seen headed to the southern town of Chitungwiza, 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Harare. Military helicopters flew over the nearby Epworth district.

Most downtown shops opened their doors. An electrical store kept one of its main entrance doors shut, a practice seen in previous strikes enabling businesses to close hurriedly in case of unrest. One bank was closed.

Police ordered township shops and bars to close early evening Monday as paramilitary police and water canon trucks were deployed, witnesses said.

There were no early reports of incidents or arrests. Commuter buses appeared to be operating normally with full loads of passengers.

A national reaction force of police and troops was sent to potential trouble spots, police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said, according to state radio reports Tuesday morning.

The strike was a likely "avenue for acts of violence" by government opponents, he said.

Security measures were in place to keep schools open on the last day of the term before the Easter break, Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told state radio.

He described the strike -- known as a stayaway with workers being urged to stay at home and not to take to the streets -- as "irrational."

The government was "doing all it could to address the current economic challenges facing the country," the radio station quoted him as saying.

The main Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions called the strike to protest the country's economic crisis, accusing the government of corruption and mismanagement that fueled official inflation of nearly 1,700 percent -- the highest rate in the world -- as well as 80 percent unemployment and acute shortages of food, hard currency and gasoline.

Labor unions planned no street demonstrations for fear of inciting police action.

On Monday, Bvudzijena said the planned strike had been declared illegal and police were being "strategically deployed" at bus stations, outside businesses and factories and at commuter transport ranks in townships to stop intimidation of workers by labor activists.

He said police would protect people going to work and "going about their legal business."

Executives at one Harare engineering plant said its workers planned to ignore the strike because the lunch provided in the canteen was the only daily meal they could rely on. Other workers feared that participating in the strike would lead to their pay being withheld.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and top colleagues in the Movement for Democratic Change were hospitalized after being beaten by police while in custody last month after police violently stopped a Harare prayer meeting that had been declared an illegal political protest.

President Robert Mugabe has admitted that Tsvangirai and least 40 opposition activists were beaten in custody, and warned protesters they would be "bashed" again if violence continued -- a reference to government accusations that the opposition is to blame for a wave of unrest and petrol bomb attacks, allegations the opposition has repeatedly denied.

Fifteen opposition activists, nine of them ordered by a court to receive medical attention during the weekend for injuries allegedly inflicted by police, are scheduled to reappear in court Tuesday on violence-related charges, their lawyers said.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Stringsinger
Date: 31 Mar 07 - 05:37 PM

Blackwater's statement needs to be examined in the light of their activities in Iraq.

""VISION
To support security, peace, freedom, and democracy everywhere."

If anything, Blackwater is responsible for destablizing Iraq and its prouncements about security, peace, freedom and democracy are hollow indeed.

"MISSION
To support national and international security policies that protect those who are defenseless"

Their true mission is to support and protect oil companies, military contractors and armed mercenaries. They torture and kill defenseless people.

" and provide a free voice for all with a dedication to providing ethical, efficient, and effective turnkey solutions that positively impact the lives of those still caught in desperate times."

They are not ethical. They cheat their employees and show lack of regard for their safety and welfare. They are efficient killing mercenaries and reflect the efficiency of their CEO, a fundmentalist religious nut who is wealthy and built up the organization with his cash,
Erik Price. You can google him and find out what his priorities are like. Blackwater would be very dangerous in Africa. It would promote private corporate interests ahead of the needs of the poor people and destablize the country as it is doing in Iraq.

Frank Hamilton

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Mar 07 - 05:35 PM

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Amos
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 10:15 PM

..."I am not persuaded that more invasion, more fire-power, and more death would accomplish much of anything" ...

Agreed.

All that is needed is one bullet.

Accurately aimed .

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Ron Davies
Date: 31 Mar 07 - 03:26 PM

BB--

If by "caring about Africans" you mean an invasion of Zimbabwe, you should make that clear. And we will treat the suggestion with all the respect it deserves.

If you have something else in mind, specify.

In general, white military forces trying to solve problems in black Africa is a loser, as I think you know.

It's up to the Africans to solve this one.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 30 Mar 07 - 04:32 PM

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Mugabe endorsed as 2008 presidential candidate
POSTED: 3:27 p.m. EDT, March 30, 2007
Story Highlights• Mugabe to stand for new five-year term
• Zimbabwe to add seats in parliament
• Zimbabwe facing economic crisis; inflation at 1,700 percent
Adjust font size:
HARARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) -- Zimbabwe's ruling party on Friday adopted a motion to hold elections in 2008 and endorsed President Robert Mugabe as its presidential candidate, allowing him to stand for another term as leader of the crumbling country.

"The resolution was accepted by the central committee ... and so both the presidential and parliamentary elections will now be held in 2008," Nathan Shamuyarira, national ZANU-PF spokesman said after the meeting.

"The candidate of the party will be the President (Mugabe) himself. He was endorsed by the central committee at the meeting today," said Shamuyarira, adding the presidential term will be cut to five years from the current six.

Mugabe has faced international condemnation over a brutal crackdown on opponents this month, which left opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai injured and hospitalized after police stopped a banned prayer rally to protest against a deepening economic crisis.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa told journalists at the same briefing the central committee had also decided that if a presidential vacancy occurred in between elections an acting president would be chosen by parliament to complete the term.

Chinamasa said local government polls would also be held in 2008 and the parliamentary lower house of assembly would be expanded from the current 150 members to 210. Parties would fill the upper house -- Senate -- with representatives on the basis of their proportional vote in parliament.

The Senate would be expanded from 66 to 84 members.

Critics say Mugabe, Zimbabwe's sole ruler since independence from Britain in 1980, has plunged the country into crisis through his policies, including the seizure of white-owned farms to give to landless blacks.

But Mugabe earlier told the central committee to resist "the machinations of the West", which he has blamed for an outbreak of violence following the police crackdown on the opposition.

"Our organs ... have to adopt a high sense of vigilancy and militancy," he said, one day after winning regional backing for his crackdown despite calls for tough action from the West.

Mugabe, 83, has accused the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of mounting a "terrorist" campaign to remove him from office and defended violent police sweeps this month which saw dozens of MDC activists arrested.

On Thursday, a special crisis summit of Southern African leaders publicly expressed solidarity with Mugabe, while calling for renewed political dialogue and an end to Western sanctions against his government. (Watch the surprising result as African leaders meet on Zimbabwe )

The veteran leader had sought to win ZANU-PF backing to extend his rule over Zimbabwe, which now faces its worst crisis in history with inflation running at more than 1,700 percent, soaring joblessness, and regular food and fuel shortages.

Mugabe had suggested extending his term by two years to 2010 but ran into resistance in his party. He then proposed running for president again when his current six-year term ends in 2008 -- outflanking opponents who planned to oppose the 2010 option.

Mugabe's candidacy had already won backing from the party's key women and youth leagues, whose members make up a sizeable number of the 245-member central committee.

Analysts had seen little opposition to Mugabe, saying his nomination was a formality because the ZANU-PF constitution stipulates that the party president, elected at a congress every five years, automatically becomes the presidential candidate.

Mugabe was elected at the party's last congress in 2004 and has not faced an election since then.

He said his fellow African leaders understood that his government was under attack by the West as revenge for his policy of seizing white-owned farms to give to landless blacks.

"We are a family. Our detractors have been shamed," he said, accusing some major television news networks of demonizing his government and laughing off British and U.S. suggestions that he might be on the way out.

Mugabe said he had told SADC leaders that Tsvangirai deserved beating by police earlier this month in an incident which drew outrage, including from some Western countries which threatened stiffer action against the veteran leader.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 30 Mar 07 - 09:05 AM

Amos-

Nice post but you are evidently confusing the country of "Zambia" with the country of "Zimbabwee."

I would agree that many "newer" counries in Africa share the same problems as Zimbabwee. Some don't. The neighboring country of Tanzania is not particularly wealthy but it seems to have been well governed for more than 40 years. Revolution, civil war, and coups rarely produce stable democracies be they in Africa, South America, Asia, the Middle East or even Europe. And we in the States have had over 200 years to sort out our transition and we still ain't got it right!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 10:18 PM

(Good post!)

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Amos
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 10:15 PM

Africa --and Zambia in particular--is wild country, blending the most violent and the most gracious of natural environments, and it is also thickly layered with despair and a loss of bearings. The small white population made Rhodesia work only by almost despotic control, and the battle of the Rhodesian whites against self-rule was awful and violent on both sides. But although it wrested rule of the region away from whe white minority, it did not address the deeper causes at play that brought about despair and confusion.

There WAS a structure to the native lives under the tribal system, which got completely shattered by the imposition of "modern" hierarchical rule. Tribes do not, apparently, smoothly transition to statehood and do not federalize easily. The tribal ethos having been lost, individuals are desperate for orientation. The natural economy having been displaced by large farms and urban centers and state controls, there is a lot of desperate poverty.

Mugabe is trying to control the region with despotic tight-fisted control, but I'd be very surprises if it did anything to remedy the core causes of chaos -- a huge often violent region naturally, and an absence of economic opportunities, and a loss of tribal moral guidance with no substitute. If the "ideal" for Zimbabwe is to make it into a "modern" nation, it will require a LOT of education, a lot of reorganization, and some kind of moral spark which steers the lives of those who live there.

ANother thought, and then I will shut up. It seems to me to be demonstrated both in Zambia and in Iraq, as well as Afghanistan, that the inability to transcend tribalism's code of violent antagonism to other tribes is the paradigm that has to shift. The world has shrunk down to the point where the sandbox is not big enough for tribes to roam around and combat other tribes, killing for the sake of old grudges or a disagreement about belief. But until that paradigm is shifted in the minds of those tribal men and women, there is no easy path out of the constant violence that is part of the paradigm. The two things that can cause such a change or reformation -- a grassroots re-eduction by some compelling vision, such as happens when a new political, economic or religous pricniple sparks huge numbers of people to re-think what they are doing -- or a lot of time allowing the shift to occur over generations. A charismatic ruler with a lot of political savvy might be able to do it.

I don't see either of those things happening broadly although there are many pockets throughout Africa, I think, where revitalization is occuring as people learn how to become citizens of the world.

I am not persuaded that more invasion, more fire-power, and more death would accomplish much of anything.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Teribus
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 08:42 PM

Of course we should care about Africans, we should care about everybody. High time though that Africans care about Africans, but as the recently concluded summit in Tanzania shows they couldn't give a toss.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 02:56 PM

Yes, we should care and support financially the ones who are trying to bring about peaceful regime change in Zimbabwee.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 02:35 PM

Summit ends with African leaders siding with Mugabe
POSTED: 2:00 p.m. EDT, March 29, 2007

Story Highlights• NEW: South Africa leaders call for end of all sanctions against Zimbabwe
• Rights groups have condemned President Mugabe's opposition crackdown
• Madeleine Albright, Desmond Tutu had called on SADC to "speak out"
• Robert Mugabe has led nation with iron fist for 27 years, economy in shambles

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (CNN) -- Southern African leaders Thursday emerged from a conference in Tanzania's capital allied with embattled Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and calling for the lifting of all sanctions against his government.

Mugabe maintains a tight grip on power as his country spirals into economic disaster.

After the Southern Africa Development Community emergency summit, Mugabe described the meeting as "excellent."

"We are one with our neighbors," he said.

Mugabe has been condemned by the West and human rights groups for arrests and reported intimidation and beatings of his political opponents. His forces have been accused of severely beating opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara on March 11.

The SADC meeting comes a day after Zimbabwean forces raided the Harare headquarters of the opposition, Movement for Democratic Change, the country's main opposition group, and detained about 10 MDC staff and officials.

Police said the raid was part of an overall initiative to arrest people responsible for throwing petrol bombs around Harare.

MDC officials said it was just another attempt to intimidate the opposition group. Tsvangirai was among those detained, just before he was to hold a news conference from the headquarters, MDC officials said.

Government police denied that Tsvangirai was among those arrested.

Communique issued after summit
A joint communique issued by the 14 SADC leaders reaffirmed the group's solidarity with Zimbabwe's government and people, and mandated that South African President Thabo Mbeki continue his efforts to facilitate dialogue between Zimbabwe's opposition groups and the government.

In the communique, the SADC leaders also encouraged better diplomatic contacts to resolve the situation in Zimbabwe and called for the lifting of all economic sanctions.

In Thursday's Washington Post, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and South African human rights activist and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu addressed the Zimbabwe issue and called on SADC to "speak out."

"Given Mugabe's consistent unwillingness to respect the legitimate complaints of his people, this is not the time for silent diplomacy," the op-ed, entitled "A Cry for Zimbabwe."

"This is the time to speak out. It is especially important that members of the African Union and Southern African Development Community (SADC) raise their voices, for they have the most influence and can hardly be accused of interventionism.

"As the examples of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela remind us, it is never inappropriate to speak on behalf of justice."

The government raid and arrests Wednesday were denounced by British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, who called it a "calculated" move "not only to prevent them from legitimately expressing their views but to intimidate."

MDC: Opposition leader still suffering from injuries
MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti said Tsvangirai is resting at home Thursday, a day after he was briefly detained.

He is still suffering from injuries inflicted by Zimbabwean forces on March 11, when he and his fellow MDC leader were taken into custody and beaten as they tried to hold a rally outside Harare.

Biti said Tsvangirai may have to be evacuated to neighboring South Africa for medical treatment.

That could prove difficult since Zimbabwean forces have prevented other MDC officials from leaving the country. Some were wounded in the March 11 crackdown and are seeking medical treatment in South Africa.

On March 18, MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa was attacked and beaten near Harare International Airport, where he was scheduled to depart for a conference in Brussels, Belgium. Tsvangirai told CNN he believed Mugabe's government was behind the attack.

Mugabe's government accuses the MDC of using brutal tactics to oppose the government. Last week, Zimbabwe's government threatened to expel Western diplomats, including the U. S. ambassador, who have openly sided with the opposition.

Mugabe, 83, has been Zimbabwe's only ruler since it achieved independence from Britain 27 years ago.

Under his rule, the once-prosperous country has suffered an economic crisis, with routine shortages of food, electricity and foreign currency. Inflation is estimated to exceed 1,700 percent.

While there is no official figure, unemployment among Zimbabweans is estimated at 80 percent.

Mugabe has indicated he intends to run for another term in next year's elections.

Tsvangirai lost his bid to unseat Mugabe in the last presidential election in 2002, which was marked by widespread allegations that Mugabe and his supporters rigged the vote.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 01:24 PM

We've been having endless programmes on radio and TV here celebrating the ending of slavery in 1807, lot's of people asking for governments to apologise, and pay reparation to the descendants of slaves.
However not one voice amongst those most prominent in this campaign about the situation in Zimbabwe, seems they'd rather pursue ideals than end persecution of more Africans.
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Donuel
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 01:12 PM

Mugabe has effectively destroyed all the farms in his country in his attempt to put all farms under immediate black ownership. White citizen farmers were driven off or killed.

If we had intervened then it would appear to be a race war. If we do so with Blackwater mercenaries now it would appear to be a race war.

Only a huge Peace corps project to get farms up and running as effieciently as possible would be of any help at this late date. But Mugabe would have to sign on to such an intervention first.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 12:54 PM

"But it is in my opinion a task for Africans to begin with and to lead the way. "

Agreed. But at what point, if action is not taken by Africans does it become our responsibility, as human beings?

Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, Cambodia, Bosnia ... The West's inaction in so many cases does not do us credit.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Wolfgang
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 12:48 PM

Mugabe went all the way from Marxist revolutionary to despotic dictator. Somewhere in between he lost what he initially may have had of humanist ideals. He repeated some of the errors of East European Socialism and added several of his own.

So, yes, we should care of course. But it will help the poor people there more if the necessary political pressure comes predominantly from African neighbours and not from very afar. We (West) should show we care and offer help if other African nations ask for. But it is in my opinion a task for Africans to begin with and to lead the way.

As awful as it feels to do not much more at first but send open letters like the one you have posted, we should be aware that more of Western interference as that at this moment could be even worse than doing nothing.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 12:43 PM

"VISION
To support security, peace, freedom, and democracy everywhere.

MISSION
To support national and international security policies that protect those who are defenseless and provide a free voice for all with a dedication to providing ethical, efficient, and effective turnkey solutions that positively impact the lives of those still caught in desperate times."





http://www.blackwaterusa.com/

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: bubblyrat
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 12:40 PM

When it comes to "regime change "----It hasn"t gone too well for Great Britain or the USA recently, so there MIGHT be some reluctance to proceed. But I am 100 % with you insofar as SOMETHING needs to be done, by SOMEBODY , and very soon. If we cannot find a national government with the guts to do something, perhaps some of us could raise an international volunteer army to go in and help to rid the world of the maniac Mugabe?? I"m a bit old ,but I"d be up for it !!!It"s not against the law to say that , is it ??

Subject: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 12:28 PM

btw, my opinion is "YES"
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A Cry for Zimbabwe
A Moment to End the Repression -- Unless the World Retreats Into Silence

By Desmond Tutu and Madeleine Albright
Thursday, March 29, 2007; Page A19

Zimbabwe, long plagued by the repressive leadership of President Robert Mugabe, has reached the point of crisis. Leaders of the democratic opposition were arrested and beaten, and one was killed, while attempting to hold a peaceful prayer meeting on March 11. Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the Movement for Democratic Change, emerged from detention with a swollen eye and a fractured skull. Several days later, Nelson Chamisa, the movement's spokesman, was stopped en route to a meeting with European officials and beaten with iron bars. Other activists have been prevented from leaving the country to seek medical treatment for wounds inflicted by police.

Unrest has continued, as have the violent crackdowns. Mugabe, stubborn and unrepentant as ever, has vowed to "bash" protesters and dismissed international criticism as an imperialist plot. Although anti-government feelings are prompted by the regime's lack of respect for human and political rights, Mugabe's poor management of the economy is also to blame. The inflation rate, more than 1,700 percent, is the world's highest, while an estimated four out of five people are unemployed. Zimbabwe, once Africa's breadbasket, has become, under Mugabe, a basket case.

The crisis in Zimbabwe raises familiar questions about the responsibilities of the international community. Some argue that the world has no business interfering with, or even commenting on, the internal affairs of a sovereign state. This principle is exceptionally convenient for dictators and for people who do not wish to be bothered about the well-being of others. It is a principle that paved the way for the rise of Hitler and Stalin and for the murders ordered by Idi Amin. It is a principle that, if consistently observed, would have shielded the apartheid government in South Africa from external criticism and from the economic sanctions and political pressure that forced it to change. It is a principle that would have prevented racist Rhodesia from becoming Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe from ever coming to power.

We are not suggesting that the world should intervene to impose political change in Zimbabwe. We are suggesting that global and regional organizations and individual governments should make known their support for human rights and democratic practices in that country, as elsewhere. We should condemn in the strongest terms the use of violence to prevent the free and peaceful expression of political thought. We should make clear our support for the standards enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Given Mugabe's consistent unwillingness to respect the legitimate complaints of his people, this is not the time for silent diplomacy. This is the time to speak out. It is especially important that members of the African Union and Southern African Development Community (SADC) raise their voices, for they have the most influence and can hardly be accused of interventionism. As the examples of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela remind us, it is never inappropriate to speak on behalf of justice.

As in South Africa, the solution to the economic, political and social quagmire in Zimbabwe is open dialogue -- perhaps facilitated by the SADC -- that includes all relevant parties and leads to an understanding based on support for democracy and respect for the legitimate rights of all. To this end, the government of Zimbabwe should cease its abusive practices, repeal draconian laws and bring the electoral code into line with regional and international standards.

Presidential and parliamentary elections that are transparent and considered to be legitimate by the people of Zimbabwe and by local and international observers should be held. Should Mugabe decide to run for president again, as he has said he might, the world will have to make an effort to ensure that balloting is fair. However, Mugabe's own party, which includes responsible and moderate elements, might well consider whether the time has come for a new leader.

With crisis comes opportunity. This is the moment for political and civic leaders in Zimbabwe to unify around a common goal: a peaceful and democratic transition. Members of the opposition would be well advised to overcome their differences and to speak with a single, strong voice. In this way, reformers can demonstrate to the people of Zimbabwe and to the world that there is a viable and patriotic alternative to the repressive and misguided leadership under which the country has suffered for so long.

Desmond Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, was archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996 and headed South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Madeleine Albright, who served as secretary of state under President Bill Clinton, is principal of the Albright Group LLC and chairman of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/28/AR2007032801876.html