[This is disgusting. Mugabe is wiping away all final legal challenges by Whites who lost their land. Note how the airforce and helicopters are flying around, even though the people queue endlessly for fuel for their cars – this is part of his intimidation.

There is a bright side to this – Mugabe’s methods are creating an ever deeper anger and resentment. It has been said in the past that in Africa, things can bottle up, and bottle up, and the one day, almost out of the blue there is a flash in the pan and things explode into incredible violence. Whether things explode this week in Zimbabwe or not, it could still happen one day.

My view is that the bottled up emotion and anger is there – all it needs is a little bit of help: Some weapons – and a match – and KABOOM – you will have a Civil War in Zimbabwe the likes of which has not been seen in Southern Africa – ever.

Since I absolutely hate Mugabe, with every atom of my body, I wish that somebody out there, in a Western Govt, would have the balls, to secretly supply arms to Mugabe’s opposition. For a small amount of cash… and a bit of rudimentary training… You would see one of the most surprising wars against a dictator in history. I firmly believe that. That country is like dry tinder. Its just waiting for that match. But then again… maybe it will take some time longer… who knows… let’s sit back and see if the MDC make any more progress this time than in the past. I just hope that the MDC will start getting their butts into gear and realise that *WAR* is the only real way forward. The sooner they drop all their illusions of an easy way out the better. Taking Mugabe down will require the spilling of blood – rivers of it. Its that simple. And let Blacks learn the lesson: That if you vote an evil man in, then be prepared to die trying to get rid of the piece of Communist Trash at a later date! Jan]

Hundreds of police were deployed in the Zimbabwean capital on Wednesday and army units were reportedly on standby before a two-day strike called by critics of President Robert Mugabe to protest his clampdown on street traders and slum dwellers.

The protest starting on Thursday is meant to coincide with opening of Parliament, at which the 81-year-old president is due to make a major policy statement. This is expected to include his plans to create a 65-seat Senate — thus extending his pool of political patronage — and to cancel all private land titles, thus blocking further court action by 5,000 white farms evicted from their land by ruling party militants.

Mugabe has the power to make sweeping legislative changes, following general elections on March 31 that gave his Zanu-PF party the two-thirds majority needed to amend the Constitution. He addressed 100 legislators in a closed session on Wednesday.

Troops and pilots flying recently acquired jet fighters rehearsed military maneuvers for the pomp-laden ceremony — to the quiet indignation of ordinary motorists who have to wait for days in lines for petrol and diesel.

Early on Wednesday, several hundred policemen were seen cycling through Harare’s industrial sites and poor townships, where hundreds of homes have been demolished over the past two weeks.

The United Nations estimates that more than 200 000 people have been left homeless in the midwinter cold, while police say 30 000 roadside vendors were arrested in the blitz.

A loose alliance of opposition figures called the nationwide strike on Thursday and Friday to protest the demolition.

Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena warned that anyone appearing to support the strike would be arrested. In 1998, nine people were killed when Mugabe deployed troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships to suppress countrywide food riots.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has alleged the blitz was a plan to drive its main supporters — the urban poor — back to rural areas where they could be controlled by denial of access to food supplies.

Retired army colonel Samuel Muvuti, head of the government’s Grain Marketing Board, issued a statement on Wednesday saying the country “has enough food to feed the whole country”.

World Food Programme chief James Morris visited Mugabe last week to discuss “an enormous humanitarian crisis” facing four million people who need relief. But a Cabinet minister said aid was unnecessary, as 1,2-million tonnes had been “secured” from South Africa. Muvuti said maize shipments were already being sent to problem areas.

Bread, cooking oil and corn meal — staples for Zimbabwe’s 11,6-million people — are scarce. Many families survive on remittances from the four million people who have emigrated to South Africa, Britain and North America. “ Sapa-AP

Source: Daily Mail & Guardian
URL: http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/br…/p>