Meanwhile in Zimbabwe...

[wautd]

scource

White farmers in court for growing crops

By Peta Thornycroft, in Johannesburg
Last Updated: 12:17am BST 06/10/2007

Ten white farmers appeared in court in Zimbabwe yesterday accused of growing crops on their land — in a country where millions of people will need food aid within the next few months.

The case in Chegutu district, 70 miles southwest of Harare, exposes the perversity of President Robert Mugabe's policies. Commerical agriculture was the mainstay of the economy in the days when Zimbabwe was a food exporter.

Since 2000, when the government began seizing white-owned farms, many of them violently, the agricultural sector has collapsed and the economy has gone into freefall, with inflation now at 6,600 per cent, the highest in the world.


The World Food Programme estimates that it will be feeding 4.1 million Zimbabweans, one third of the population, by the end of the year. But none of that has stopped the Zanu-PF regime.

Now the Chegutu group is charged with violating the Consequential Provisions Act, which gave the few hundred remaining white farmers a final deadline of Sep 30 to leave their land and homes. The colonial-era Chegutu courtroom was packed by the so-called "war veterans" who are Mr Mugabe's staunch supporters, and "beneficiaries" who stand to be given the properties should the 10 be convicted.

Among them are Edna Madzongwe, the speaker of parliament, and Nathan Shamuyarira, a former information minister and one of President Robert Mugabe's closest aides.

The farmers, aged from 38 to 75, produce a variety of food from chickens to oranges and have already given two-thirds of their farms to the government for resettlement. All but one still work their remaining land intensively and say they intend to try to continue.

They were remanded on bail and their lawyer David Drury sought to have the case referred to the supreme court, which is due to rule on the constitutionality of the land law. They pleaded not guilty and face up to two years in prison if convicted.

"We have also said that no farmer has received any payment of any kind whatsoever and that the way compensation is decided means farmers would be paid nothing, given that Zimbabwe's inflation rate is over 6,000 per cent," he added.

But a prominent lawyer in Harare said the courts were blocking urgent applications over land cases. "The atmosphere in the courts has changed dramatically in the last week," he said.

Didymus Mutasa, the lands minister, has said that the few hundred remaining white farmers will be forced out, one way or another. "The position is that food shortages or no food shortages, we are going ahead to remove the remaining whites," he said recently. "Too many blacks are still clamouring for land and we will resettle them on the remaining farms."

In fact many farms were given to members of the government and their cronies, and one minister has admitted that the new farmers have failed in their cultivation efforts.

Outside the court, the scruffy shops of Chegutu were empty of basic foods, and street vendors sold small, sour oranges.

They came from a once-prolific citrus farm in the district now devastated after it was seized by Bright Matonga, the deputy information minister, earlier this year.

[PeZook]

Heh. It's turned into a feudal monarchy.

I wonder how long it will take for Zimbabwe's neighbors to partition the country amongst themselves. You could probably do it easily by simply driving trucks full of grain into their towns and cities, with military escorts, and giving it away. Then just defeat Zimbabwe's military, institute laws that are somewhat sane, and voila.

[Shroom Man 777]

Um...those white farmers were obviously racists who deserved it? Because the White Man is always keeping the Brother Down!

Hrm, though really, why is this Mugabe guy doing this, anyway?

[PeZook]

Hrm, though really, why is this Mugabe guy doing this, anyway?

Because he's a warlord with a medieval mindset and an insatiable thirst for power? This whole court ordeal just shows he treats Zimbabwe as his own personal playground, in essence turning it into a perpetually impoverished feudal state, with a "nobility" of sorts getting the land and all the perks, while the rest is stripped of everything, including food.

I tell you, if Zimbabwe is left alone, and Mugabe doesn't die soon (the biggest bastards never do...), sociologists will be able to study a feudal state in the modern world. Fascinating!

[salm]

Hrm, though really, why is this Mugabe guy doing this, anyway?

Because he ordered the white people to stop farming and if white farmers start farming again against his orders he will look wekk and lose face. Zimbabwe needs to stay the course.

[Bounty]

Zimbabwe needs to stay the course.

And not just for ideology. The only reason Mugabe has any power is because he can offload the blame for all of Zimbabwe's problems on a Vast Conspiracy. Admitting that his government is even partly to blame will kill his popularity, since all he has that's keeping him in power is a carefully-nurtured national paranoia.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Um...those white farmers were obviously racists who deserved it? Because the White Man is always keeping the Brother Down!

Hrm, though really, why is this Mugabe guy doing this, anyway?

Well, there is a huge runaway inflation to distract the filthy smelly dead poor populace from...

[Sidewinder]

Heh. It's turned into a feudal monarchy.

I wonder how long it will take for Zimbabwe's neighbors to partition the country amongst themselves. You could probably do it easily by simply driving trucks full of grain into their towns and cities, with military escorts, and giving it away. Then just defeat Zimbabwe's military, institute laws that are somewhat sane, and voila.

I can picture the South Africans annexing the nation. Sounds easy. Go up to a group of impoverished Zimbabwe civilians. Say, "Join our army, and you'll be fed regularly." Have enough rifles for everyone who joins up, and send this force, supported by air, armor, and artillery, into battle against Mugabe's cronies. (Some of these cronies might even be convinced to switch sides.)

[Kanastrous]

Do the South Africans stand to benefit, from absorbing a nation of hungry, backward, uneducated tribalists?

Maybe for access to more natural resources...but would it be worth it?

[Ma Deuce]

Why did Mugabe let the white farmers have their land back, if he doesn't intend to let them grow crops on it?

[fgalkin2]

Why did Mugabe let the white farmers have their land back, if he doesn't intend to let them grow crops on it?

Probably so he can point to them and say- "see, it's the Evil White Man. He owns all the land! It's all his fault." Which is how African politics usually work.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[fgalkin2]

EDIT: it appears that he didn't give them their land back, he didn't take it from them yet.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Pelranius]

I wonder how much any country would have to be paid to annex Zimbabwe? (not necessarily the South Africans. Maybe we could talk Libya, Nigeria or China into adopting their own failed state, but I don't think Tripoli or Beijing is that stupid)

[[R_H]]

I wonder how much any country would have to be paid to annex Zimbabwe? (not necessarily the South Africans. Maybe we could talk Libya, Nigeria or China into adopting their own failed state, but I don't think Tripoli or Beijing is that stupid)

Nigeria already has problems with rebels messing around with its oil production, the distance would probably be too much for Libya to intervene, and they could possible lose anyways (they lost agains frigging Chad, ableit, Chad got Milan missiles from France). China would be a wildcard, I don't think they have the kind of expeditionary capibilty necessary, and even if, doing so would increase tensions with the US.

[Drooling Iguana]

Do the South Africans stand to benefit, from absorbing a nation of hungry, backward, uneducated tribalists?

It would mean that they'd no longer have to share a border with a nation of hungry, backward, uneducated tribalists with their own military.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Do the South Africans stand to benefit, from absorbing a nation of hungry, backward, uneducated tribalists?

It would mean that they'd no longer have to share a border with a nation of hungry, backward, uneducated tribalists with their own military.

Given how bloody these inter-tribal wars are, who would want to "acquire" a civil war?

[Drooling Iguana]

Well, the US seems to be eager to do so.

[Bedlam]

I did some field work in Zimbabwe about 7 years ago, there was almost no petrol in the whole country then, I'm surprised its still running in any way now

[Chardok]

South Africa won't do shit because Mugabe is a sacred cow because of something he did for Mandela like 30 years ago. He could kill a puppy on national TV and they'd still put up with him.

[PainRack]

So, we begin to see new consequences to population pressures and economic forces.

Hate to imagine that if global warming and peak oil continue, we will only see more of this shit occuring elsewhere in the world.

[MKSheppard]

So, we begin to see new consequences to population pressures and economic forces.

Hate to imagine that if global warming and peak oil continue, we will only see more of this shit occuring elsewhere in the world.

BULLSHIT

Zimbawawe is collapsing because of Mad Bob Mugabe driving it to a feudal state, not because of population pressure.

[Mayabird]

South Africa's not going to do anything to Zimbabwe. Mbeki is buddy-buddy with Mugabe. Hell, all those head honchos are buddies with each other. The guy in charge of Namibia even wants to emulate Mugabe. Cause, you know, they're all African leaders, and they gotta all stick together, right? Can't criticize each other, no sir, or they'll have problems.

Also Mbeki is a moonbat. Check out his views on HIV sometime, as well as who he made his health minister.

Speaking of population pressures, Zimbabwe's population was set to implode anyway from the high HIV infection rate. HIV+famine+people fleeing mean the population is actually shrinking pretty rapidly right now.

[Axis Kast]

These are men like gods. Remember, for many of his countrymen, Mugabe is a hero of the most important struggle not only in living memory, but also national history. His credentials during the long struggle against white minority rule give him a great deal of leeway.

And it is also true that the typical African leader is acutely sensitive to criticisms from without. This results in a kind of reciprocal culture that favors the autocrat: because the vast majority play foul and each would be vulnerable were some precedent of accountability set, they have developed an unspoken code that all problems should be handled by Africans first and foremost. Even when they are obviously incapable of doing anything effective.

[The Yosemite Bear]

I wonder what's next?

oh wait statutes to his moral predacessor Amin....

[PainRack]

BULLSHIT

Zimbawawe is collapsing because of Mad Bob Mugabe driving it to a feudal state, not because of population pressure.

And the reason why Mugabe is so popular and in power was because he managed to pinpoint a scapegoat for the blacks. Rich white folks.

In a country where the population of the poor is rapidly increasing, its easy for any would be revolutionary to create a scapegoat in the rich.