2008 Articles 25 Dec Kingdom Come 21 Dec Christmas 15 Dec Step Forward 5 Dec Beginning 1 Dec Amendment 30 Nov Facilitation 26 Nov Genocide 24 Nov Running Out 17 Nov Crisis 15 Nov Somalia 12 Nov What Next? 8 Nov Leadership 2 Nov Chipo 1 Nov Rome Burns 29 Oct Failure 25 Oct High Noon 19 Oct Never Easy 10 Oct Abyss 8 Oct Filibustering 4 Oct Chaos in Zim 29 Sept A Mule? 21 Sept On Step 16 Sept The End 12 Sept New Beginning 11 Sept Deal? 6 Sept Consequences 3 Sept Need a Deal 2 Sept Dollar Died 31 Aug Steering 29 Aug Unstuck 23 Aug Betrayed 18 Aug The Devil 13 Aug 13 Aug 08 12 Aug Today 11 Aug Cliffhanger 8 Aug Whats Going On 27 Jul Progress 22 Jul Agree to talk 21 Jul Mbeki kicks 16 Jul Crunch Time 13 Jul Economics 9 Jul Reality Looms 2 Jul Where? 30 Jun Looking Glass 26 Jun Battle 22 Jun What Now? 21 Jun The Commitment 16 Jun Do or Die 13 Jun Morning After 10 Jun Closing Doors 26 May Current Outlook 24 May Fan Club 19 May Tyranny 17 May End Game 15 May Flushing 8 May Violence 6 May Bizarre Process 25 Apr Cornered 20 Apr Electoral Fraud 19 Apr Jesse 17 Apr This Farce 11 Apr The Devil 6 Apr Wounded Buffalo 1 Apr Dying Kick 31 Mar Politcl Tsunami 27 Mar Current Situ. 26 Mar 4 days to go 21 Mar 8 days to go 15 Mar Election Time 27 Feb Games Begin 17 Feb Public Office 11 Feb Choices 4 Feb Decision Time 26 Jan Ambushed 25 Jan The Struggle 20 Jan Truth or Fiction 12 Jan Mugabe Mistake 8 Jan Surprise 2 Jan Kenya Lessons
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Cornered
When I was just a small boy I heard a huge commotion in the chicken run at
home. I ran out and went in to find that a wild cat had got in and was in
the process of killing chickens. To this day I still have the bite marks on
my hand - but I dealt with the animal and we only lost a couple of birds. I
remember that spitting, snarling bundle of fury very clearly!
From my perspective that is Zanu PF today. Cornered, spitting and snarling
and no match for the forces ranged against them in the chicken run. Lets
just review a few of the major developments in the past 10 days.
First was the arms shipment from China. This was uncovered a week after the
election and when we raised the balloon - and what a story of Gods
intervention that was - a huge outcry ensued. Our friends rushed to the
chicken run and when the hullabaloo was over the cargo was on its way back
to China. What was so significant about this incident was that all our
neighbors came to the rescue - the entire region, including Mozambique,
Namibia and Angola, denied the ship right of entry to their ports. All
former allies of the Zanu PF regime, a clear signal that it was time to
resolve the crisis. It was also a useful message for China itself.
This was quickly followed by the ANC taking over the lead on the Zimbabwe
crisis. Jacob Zuma began to speak out on the issue and the ANC issued a
strongly worded communique to the effect that the situation was 'dire' and
required urgent attention. The MDC heightened the pressure by coming out and
saying that Mbeki was no longer acceptable as a mediator. We had received
further evidence of his active support and defence of the regime in Harare
and felt that in the light of this new information we could no longer work
through him or his office. These two developments caused a sharp shift in
the stance taken by South Africa and we saw a marked change in the tone and
content of SABC reporting.
Then the regime - cornered and scared, began spitting and snarling at all in
the run. They deployed their brown shirts in a mixture of uniforms, with
weapons, whips and batons and orders to beat and intimidate the opposition.
In 10 days we were dealing with a full-blown crisis - a dozen deaths, some
5000 hapless refugees in the urban areas with many others where their homes
were burned out and lives destroyed. We have had over 500 people admitted to
hospital and many arrests - difficult to know how many at this stage as our
staff are either in detention or on the run and in hiding.
Again we put up a signal for help and this time the Church and the
humanitarian community came running to the chicken run. It has taken them a
bit of time to get organised but I think they are now nearly on top of the
situation and getting help to all the victims. Although the regime has
deployed their thugs to every district in the country, the resulting
violence and intimidation is patchy. This can only be ascribed to unwilling
leadership, reluctance on the part of the actual brown shirts themselves and
fear of local retribution. In fact there has been a fair amount of the
latter and a number of Zanu PF leaders have paid a price for their action.
The Police seem to be taking a much more neutral stance - very welcome and
long overdue. However they are still reluctant to take the wild cats in the
chicken run into detention - perhaps afraid they might bite them!
The noise coming from the chicken run following this development has
attracted others - long time friends in the international community have
intensified their efforts on our behalf. The British Prime Minister traveled
to the UN where under the baleful glare of Thabo Mbeki he made a strong and
unequivocal statement on Zimbabwe. 'The election had been rigged and the
international community cannot stand by and allow the peoples wishes to be
denied'. He was followed by a string of other leaders including Tanzania and
Botswana and the USA, even Croatia revealed they knew where the chicken run
was and that what was happening in there was unacceptable.
Since then the pressure has grown significantly. Yesterday the American
Under Secretary of State with responsibility for Africa was in South Africa
and stated very clearly that the MDC had won the election and won it
outright and no amount of fudging would change that situation. 4 senior
clerics in South Africa climbed in and said that Mugabe should step down and
allow a democratic transition. Alan Boesak came out swinging and said that
the situation was unacceptable and resembled the old apartheid days in South
Africa - about the strongest language a South African leader can use.
Under this pressure the regime here seems to have buckled. The strident
confident calls for a recount and a runoff are receding. The recount is
achieving nothing - so far they have simply confirmed the results of the
March 29th election. The schools were going to be kept closed until the
re-run took place - now they are reopening on schedule next week. The Herald
and the Chronicle are shifting their position to talks about a unity
government. They need not waste the paper - the MDC is never going to do a
power sharing deal with the devil.
Clearly the recount exercise now has only one objective and that is to give
the regime in Harare more time. What they are doing with the extra time
before they depart the stage is anyone's guess. I would think they are still
looting and sanitizing their offices and perhaps looking for somewhere to go
where they can be safe and keep their ill-gotten gains. I would think that
if you watched Mengistu in Harare you would see that such moves are afoot.
Today the former President of Zimbabwe is in my hometown opening the
International Trade Fair. It will be his swan song and just for that reason
it should be interesting. What will he say in a City that voted 90.3 per
cent against him! How he can dare to even come to Bulawayo in a region where
he is guilty of thousands of deaths and enormous suffering is just another
example of the phrase the 'cheek of the devil'. I hope he notes that this
year anyway - that the word 'international' should be taken out of the name
of the Fair. 'Village flea market' might be more appropriate. Next year will
be better!
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 25th April 2008
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