at the edge of the abyss

At the edge of the abyss Zimbabwe, a despotic dictatorship in crisis From the rise of the MDC to the corrupt presidential elections of March 2002 Click thumbnails below for larger images
	The national flag of Zimbabwe, basically a ZANU PF party banner with a few additional symbols, was introduced in 1980.
	Zimbabwe, once the prosperous first world nation of Rhodesia, has by the year 2000 fallen into a bottomless pit of corruption, chaos and despotism, under the leadership of the old Soviet backed Marxist, Robert Mugabe, and his ZANU PF party.
	At the beginning of 2000, with the country sliding ever deeper into bankruptcy and chaos, a new political opposition emerges in the country. This grouping is known as the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). This multi-racial movement has been welded together under the charismatic leadership of former trade union leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.
	A peaceful MDC demonstration against the ruling ZANU PF party in the capital city of Harare, during May 2000. After twenty years of misrule, the people are hungry for change.
	The biased, Mugabe controlled Zimbabwe police force, stand back as ZANU PF thugs attack the peaceful demonstrators. They then fire teargas at the MDC supporters. The police, acting under the direct orders of the Mugabe regime, fail in their duty to preserve law and order and to act in an impartial manner.
	The ZANU PF thugs make a special point of attacking white Zimbabweans, a pattern which will grow in the months ahead. Mugabe, desperately seeking to remain in power, uses the tiny white population as a scapegoat for his chronic mismanagement of the economy. He raises the issue of land reform, as a way of diverting the attention of the rural population from the real causes of their poverty and misery.
	At the delayed parlimentary elections held in June 2000, Mugabe and his ZANU PF party pull out all the stops to rig the results. This has been standard practice for his regime since the elections of 1980. The intimidation begins with the land invasions of white owned commercial farms and the intimidation of the rural population. The Mugabe regime use the so-called 'war veterans', a rag-tag mixture of genuine veterans of the 1970's bush war, and young paid ZANU PF thugs, for these occupations and rural intimidation.
	Morgan Tsvangirai urges people to stand up to Mugabe's bully boys and vote to bring real change to Zimbabwe. Despite horrific and violent intimidation, including rape and murder by paid ZANU PF thugs, the people make a stand for change.
	The MDC is a multi-racial grouping drawing support across all races, tribes and classes in Zimbabwe. The people, fed up with the rampant corruption, cronyism and despotism of Mugabe and his ZANU PF cronies, are determined to achieve change, regardless of ZANU PF threats and violence.
	An election poster with the symbol of the MDC, the open hand. This gesture evokes the wish for open government and democracy in Zimbabwe. Despite massive rigging, the MDC win 55 seats in the 150 seat parliament, a massive victory for freedom under the circumstances. The real result was undoubtedly much better, and more seats should rightfully have gone to the MDC.
	Mugabe, taken aback by the level of support for the MDC, rants and raves, plots and plans. He orders his crony, chenjerai 'Hitler' Hunzvi, to step up the persecution of the tiny white population and supporters of the MDC. Mugabe in an overtly racist speech, declares white Zimbabweans to be, 'enemies of the state,' and trys to strip them of their citizenship. As with all dictators, he uses a minority as a focus for the the ills of the nation, and a scapegoat for his regimes corruption and incompetence.
	Chenjerai 'Hitler' Hunzvi, leader of the so-called 'war veterans', a Polish trained medical doctor who, it is believed, did not take part in the 1970's bush war, and was also married to a white Polish woman. The paid squatters of ZANU PF, the so-called 'war veterans' are sent onto commercial farms, under the pretence of land distribution, and claim the land for themselves. Hunzvi, the evil lackey of Mugabe, dies of an AIDS related illness on 4th June 2001.
	A gathering of Hunzvi's so-called 'war veterans'. Although these land invasions are declared illegal in the Zimbabwean courts, Mugabe refuses to order the police to remove 'war veterans' from commercial farms, and the violence spins out of control.
	The lack of forex prevents the government from purchasing fuel, petrol and diesel begins to run out. Food becomes scarcer and there are large price rises. With inflation at over 75% and unemployment at 60%, rises in the price of bread lead to riots.
	People, fed up with the lies and corruption of Mugabe show their anger in civil unrest. Mugabe sends in the police who brutally suppress the disturbances, in this instance, in the shanty towns outside Harare.
	On 6th September 2001, an agreement is reached in Abuja, capital of Nigeria, brokered by black African states and the Commonwealth. The Mugabe government agree's to halt all further land invasions, and seek a settlement of the land dispute in a lawful manner.
	September 11th 2001, two commercial airliners are flown into the World Trade Centre towers in New York, by Middle Eastern terrorists. This dreadful act of unspeakable horror, provides Mugabe with a smokescreen to continue the persecution of the white minority, and the MDC opposition in Zimbabwe. He steps up his reign of terror, whilst the eyes of the world focus on the New York tragedy. The Abuja agreement is breached wholesale. The violence was never about land, that was merely a convenient excuse, rather it has been about maintaining Mugabe and his ZANU PF government in power permanently. Signing the Abuja agreement was merely another ploy by Mugabe.
	On December 4th 2001, the United States of America passes the 'Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 [S. 494]'. This Act recognizes the abuses of Mugabe's gangster regime, and imposes certain sanctions. Mugabe declares that anybody in Zimbabwe who is against him is a terrorist.
	January 2002, The Commonwealth refuses to impose sanctions upon Zimbabwe, or to expell it from the organization. The Commonwealth sinks to a new low of cant and hypocracy.
	January 31st 2002. Australia considers smart sanctions against Mugabe and his ZANU PF cronies.
	February 2002. The Zimbabwe parliament passes media bills which severly restrict the reporting ability of the independent press, effectively gagging democracy, and the ability of the opposition MDC to get its message across to the people.
	The Presidential elections take place over the period 9th - 10th March, in a climate of violence and intimidation. Mugabe and his ZANU PF cronies pull every trick in the book to ensure a victory.
	Despite massive intimidation, press gagging, gerrymandering and violence directed at its supporters, the MDC valiently campaigns for its own Presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai
	With the massive gerrymandering, and ballot rigging, Mugabe is declared the winner and secures another 6 years in office. The free world is appalled by the blatent tampering which produced this unbelievable Mugabe win, and expresses its disgust at this travesty of democracy. Mugabe receives support from his fellow African leaders, many of whom came to power under similar dubious circumstances.

Footnote

The illegal land invasions with their accompanying violence and intimidation, force many farmers to leave their farms. Valuable cash crops are either destroyed by the 'war veterans', or rot in the fields. Many maize crops are devastated, bringing the spectre of mass starvation ever closer. Livestock farming is also decimated as squatters move in and make daily farming impossible. Farmers are forced to sell their herds, exacerbating the food shortages.

The destruction of commercial farming in Zimbabwe has a knock-on effect in the business community, factories and service industries shed labour, adding to the economic meltdown and massive unemployment figures.

This lack of forex earning crops, especially tobacco, pushes the country ever deeper into bankruptcy. International doner organizations and governments refuse to bail the Mugabe regime out, whilst it persists with its campaign of racist and political violence, and acts with total disregard for the due process of law. Judges are also threatened and forced to resign, whilst Presidential decrees give support to the so-called war veterans, condoning murder, rape and violence.

More than enough land has been acquired since 1980 for the land reform programme, on a willing seller, willing buyer basis. However, most of this land has only gone as far as Mugabe's family, friends and political supporters, where it has fallen into disrepair and become unproductive.

The land invasions are purely a cynical and calculating way of keeping Mugabe in power, regardless of the cost to the country and to the future of all Zimbabweans, whatever their racial or tribal origins.