Opponents fear summit coup by world’s ‘wiliest leader’
The Times December 3, 2007 By Martin Fletcher Robert Mugabe is “probably the cleverest politician in the world”, a European diplomat conceded. A prominent opponent of the President of Zimbabwe said: “If he was a chess player he would be a grand-master, if not a world champion.” The great fear among many of Mr Mugabe’s
The horror of a stricken nation waiting to die
From The Times December 1, 2007 By Martin Fletcher As the people of Zimbabwe are ground down by poverty and brutality, Robert Mugabe is offered a welcome at the international table We knew Sarudzai Gumbo was still sick, but nothing prepared us for what we found. The seven-year-old was lying alone and neglected in a
Former Rhodesian PM Ian Smith’s Death Ends Era in Zimbabwe
VOA By Peta Thornycroft 21 November 2007 Former Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith who died in Cape Town late Tuesday brings to an end an era, which haunted citizens of independent Zimbabwe. Peta Thornycroft reports for VOA that Ian Smith, who took his country into war rather than give up white minority rule, died unrepentant.
Statement on the death of Ian Douglas Smith
Notwithstanding the ruinous policies of the Rhodesia Front party he led, Ian Douglas Smith himself obviously had a deep love for Zimbabwe, evidenced by the fact that unlike so many of his colleagues he continued to live in Zimbabwe after independence (he only went to South Africa at the end of his life for medical
The Gorbachev Factor
By David Coltart Bulawayo 8th November 2007 The recent passage of Constitutional Amendment 18 through the Zimbabwean Parliament with the consent of both Zanu PF and the opposition MDC has caused much alarm and confusion within Zimbabwean civil society and even amongst MDC supporters within Zimbabwe and abroad. Some have gone so far as saying
Zimbabwe: Crisis Talks Resume in South Africa
SW Radio Africa (London) 31 October 2007 By Tichaona Sibanda The SADC led mediation talks on Zimbabwe resumed in Pretoria on Wednesday after a month long break. The talks, which are already behind schedule on several fronts, missed Tuesday’s key deadline for agreement on a broad framework for free and fair elections. A source told
Cemeteries in Zimbabwe Reflect Gravity of Crisis
By VOA News Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 22 October 2007 The cemeteries of Zimbabwe are filled these days with fresh graves, many of the smallest mounds covering some of what was the southern African nation’s future. An opposition leader says the acres of freshly dug graves are evidence of the ruin President Robert Mugabe has left Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Tourists Flood to Victoria Falls, Shun Other Sites
By VOA News Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe 20 October 2007 Blessed with natural beauty, Zimbabwe was once a destination for thousands of world travelers. Amid an economic and humanitarian crisis, tourism in the southern African nation is at an all time low — except at The Victoria Falls. There, the government shields tourists from the privation
Activists in Zimbabwe Suffer Arrests, Beatings
By VOA News Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 19 October 2007 The southern African Nation of Zimbabwe is suffering from massive inflation, rampant poverty and a 90 percent unemployment rate. But when people try to speak out against the situation and the current government under President Robert Mugabe, they say they are subjected to harassment, arrest and even
Rare Video Inside Zimbabwe Shows Impact of Hyperinflation, Food Shortages
By VOA News Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 18 October 2007 We bring you a rare look inside the troubled southern African nation of Zimbabwe. Today, this nation of between 10 million and 12 million is teetering on the edge of what a member of its own parliament is calling “the world’s gravest humanitarian crisis.” But few outside