It’s been about 3 weeks, so it’s time to update everyone on the hell hole that Bobby Mugabe made again.<\/p>\n
On the bright side, the UK is saying that they will give Zimbabwe $100 million in aid<\/a>, though I wonder if recent developments (see below) may interfere with this.<\/p>\n First, we have the case of deputy agriculture minister-designate Roy Bennett, who has been imprisoned on what are clearly trumped up charges, with an improperly filed indictment<\/a> for, “possessing weapons for the purposes of insurgency and banditry,” a crime that carries the death sentence. (See also here<\/a>)<\/p>\n While he was finally granted bail<\/a>, this was one of the proximate causes of Tsvangirai and his MDC-T It should be noted that Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara and his MDC-M are also participating in the boycott of cabinet meetings<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tsvangirai is Trying to get the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to intervene<\/a> on what has increasingly become a phony power sharing arrangement.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, ZANU-PF harassment of the MDC and human rights activists continues apace with raids on MDC offices in Harare<\/a> (also here<\/a>) claiming that they were looking for arms…..Shades of Bennett’s kangaroo court.<\/p>\n Inter party talks between the MDC and ZANU-PF have broken off without a resolution<\/a>, and the human rights situation in the country has gone straight into the twilight zone with Mugabe detaining<\/a>, and then expelling<\/a> the “UNHRC special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” Manfred Nowak.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Marange diamond fields, which are one of the few sources of hard currency available to Mugabe to keep his supporters paid off, are under a Kimberly process investigation for widespread torture, forced labor, and smuggling<\/a>, which could lead to ban on the export of their gems.<\/p>\n The reports are that, once again, the Kimberly process will wimp out and do nothing <\/a>, even after members of the Zimbabwe delegation to the meeting threatened and harassed witnesses at the meeting<\/a>.<\/p>\n
disengaging from the ZANU-PF<\/a>, which means that they are no longer attending cabinet meetings.<\/p>\n