Iran & Zimbabwe

Sitting here today sipping my coffee before we head off to church, reading the news online, This headline popped right off the screen at me:

Iran, Zimbabwe to establish air links
Johannesburg – Iran has expressed its willingness to establish air links with Zimbabwe to improve accessibility between the two countries, the Herald reported on Friday. The newspaper cited Iranian ambassador to Zimbabwe Rasoul Momeni as saying that the creation of air links would greatly assist in rejuvenating Zimbabwe’s flagging tourism sector. “The importance of establishing airline links between the two countries cannot be underestimated,” he was quoted as saying. Currently, Air Zimbabwe flies to Dubai where it parks its aircraft for about 18 hours “yet Iran is only an hour away”, the Herald said. Momeni underscored his government?s desire to assist in turning around the fortunes of Zimbabwe?s tourism industry. He told the newspaper that Iran was ready to “exchange experience and establish co-operation in the area of tourism and hospitality”, adding that there would be a renewal of all tourism memorandum of understanding. Iran, he said, would not only offer funds to Zimbabwe but it would assist with the provision of experts in various fields of tourism. The envoy, however, emphasized the need for Zimbabwe’s local tourism industry to offer quality service and reasonable rates.

Such an unlikely partnership don’t you think? The question beckons ~ during a time where Zimbabwe is trying to get back on her feet what is Mugabe thinking, partnering with Iran, even if it is under the guise of boosting tourism? Tourism? Partnering with a known outspoken blatant terrorist will do Zimbabwe a huge injustice in her ability to garner support on the international platform.

What kind of tourism boost will this be? Come to Zimbabwe to see potholes, starvation and cholera epidemic running rampant. Visit Iran to see how nuclear weapons are made, where they store their plutonium and learn how to ride a camel…

And then we wonder why a government of national unity will not work?

May Her Soul Rest in Peace

Waking this morning to the news coming out of Zimbabwe that the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai had lost his wife in a road accident all but brought back haunting tales of the Mugabe regime in it’s attempt to rid the Zimbabwean political front of any form of insubordination and opposition. Some will call this a tragic accident others will know the extent to which the truth surrounding the events, on that road at 4:00pm Friday March 6th 2009, that led to the untimely passing of Susan Tsvangirai. Below is an excerpt from a trusted source, and I quote:

The turmoil in Zimbabwe intensified last night when Morgan Tsvangirai, the new Prime Minister, was injured in a car crash and his wife was killed.

There was no immediate evidence to suggest that the crash was anything but an accident, but Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) henchmen have staged car crashes to eliminate opponents before and Mr Tsvangirai has previously been the target of assassination attempts. “Conspiracy theories will abound,” one Western diplomat said.

Officials of Mr Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change said that his car was hit by the trailer of a large lorry as it swung out in front of it. Mrs Tsvangirai was on the side hit by the trailer and suffered terrible injuries.

A hospital worker was told by Mr Tsvangirai’s chief security aide travelling with him in a Toyota Land Cruiser, that Mrs Tsvangirai was thrown out of the vehicle and fell a long way off. The aide and Mr Tsvangirai were trapped inside, but as soon as the aide managed to extricate himself, Mr Tsvangirai called to him: “Help my wife, help my wife!”

Mr Tsvangirai was in a stable condition in hospital, an MDC spokesman said but even if the Prime Minister has escaped serious injury, the death of the woman to whom he had been married for 31 years, and with whom he has had six children, will be devastating at a time when he is struggling to establish Zimbabwe’s new coalition Government in the face of stiff resistance from Zanu (PF) hardliners.

“I don’t imagine he will be able to give much thought to running the country or the legislative agenda for a while,” the diplomat said.

The accident happened about 30 miles south of Harare as the Tsvangirais were returning to their home district, Buhera, for a rally tomorrow. Mr Tsvangirai’s spokesman, James Maridade, said that the Prime Minister’s car rolled over three times.

“The accident happened between 16.00 hours [14.00 GMT] and 17.00 hours but the details are still sketchy,” one party official said. “The driver of the truck appeared to be sleeping.”

Other reports suggested that Mr Tsvangirai’s Land Cruiser had suffered a burst front left tyre and then rolled.

Mr Tsvangirai was taken to the private Avenues Clinic in Harare, severely bruised and cut, where he was later visited by Mr Mugabe and his wife, Grace. An aide was also injured. “Morgan is talking, and he has been sedated,” said Eddie Cross, a member of the MDC’s national executive. “Last time I spoke [to hospital staff] he didn’t know about Susan’s death. He will be devastated. They were a real team.” The two-lane road leads to Beitbridge, the main border crossing into South Africa, and is notoriously dangerous. It is deeply potholed. It is used heavily by lorries bringing goods into Zimbabwe, many of them seriously overloaded. It was unclear if the Prime Minister had a police escort, but his car and driver and two accompanying security vehicles were provided by the MDC, not the Government, which would also seem to militate against the idea that this was an assassination attempt. Mr Tsvangirai has used the MDC Land Cruiser with a two-vehicle security escort for several years, usually with four officials in each car, and a security guard in the front seat next to the driver in the Land Cruiser, with Mr Tsvangirai usually sitting in the rear seat. Since becoming Prime Minister, he has been issued with a new Sclass Mercedes-Benz, which he uses for official business.

In December last year Elliott Manyika, a party youth wing boss, was killed in a suspicious accident and in November the air force commander Perrence Shiri was shot and injured in circumstances that have never become clear.

Mr Cross said an MDC team that reached the scene before the police was subsequently detained. “When police turned up, they arrested them and confiscated the videos and pictures they had taken,” Mr Cross said. Asked if fould play was suspected, he replied: “That’s the big question. We don’t like that [the arrest of the MDC team] but we have to wait and see. We will demand complete transparency and a thorough investigation.”

Mr Cross also confirmed that earlier this week the new Mercedes-Benz limousine just issued by the government vehicle pool to Lovemore Moyo, the Speaker of the House of Assembly and the MDC chairman, had had a blowout on the way from Harare to Bulawayo. Mr Moyo had travelled by air while his driver took the vehicle. “A brand-new vehicle with brand-new tyres. This is too much,” Mr Cross said. “There is something amiss.”

Mr Tsvangirai has been the target of at least three previous assassination attempts, most spectacularly in 1997 when an eight-man assassination squad burst into his tenth-floor Harare office and tried to force him out of the window. He has also survived numerous death threats, arrests and beatings, one of which left him with a cracked skull, and a two-year treason trial that could have led to the death penalty.

Yesterday’s crash also took place at a critical moment in Zimbabwe’s continuing crisis. Mr Tsvangirai took a huge political risk by entering a unity government with Mr Mugabe last month, but Zimbabwe’s generals and other Zanu (PF) hardliners opposed to sharing power with the MDC have been conspiring to destroy it. They refused to release MDC activists who had been abducted and detained without trial, had Roy Bennett, one of Mr Tsvangirai’s ministers, arrested and organised further farm seizures.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a statement last night expressing deep sadness at Mrs Tsvangirai’s death.

Was this indeed a tragic road accident? Call it a coincidence? Is there perhaps a conspiracy theory at play here? You decide…

We offer our deepest sympathy to His Excellency Morgan Tsvangirai, and their six beautiful children, The Lord strengthen and uphold you during this difficult time and senseless loss of your wife, and mother, Susan Tsvangirai.

Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s Inauguration Speech

The Inauguration Speech of the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe,
His Excellency, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai.

Your Majesty, King Mswati III, the Chairman of the AU Commission, Mr Jean Ping, President Mugabe, former President Mbeki, Your Excellencies, Honoured Guests, People of Zimbabwe,

Today is an historic day for our country. As we form this transitional government, we look back with reflection on the difficult journey that has brought us to this day, and look forward with determination to the road that lies ahead.

To my fellow African leaders, there can be no turning back on the political agreement which each party has signed, knowing it is not a perfect agreement but still a workable one. An agreement that if implemented with good faith, will deliver a peaceful way forward toward a stable economy, a new constitution and free and fair elections. Brothers and sisters in SADC and the AU, we are counting on you to be our partners and to ensure that this agreement is upheld as we face the challenges of rebuilding our country in the days ahead.

Though today’s ceremony marks a very significant milestone on our democratic journey, it is only the beginning. On this day 19 years ago Nelson Mandela walked free from Victor Verster prison, an historic step on South Africa’s long road to freedom.

But former President Mandela’s release did not signify the end of his people’s struggle for democracy. His personal liberation showed that the victory of freedom over oppression was near. But on February 11th 1990, make no mistake, freedom had still not arrived. Only with the courageous effort and compromise by all parties was a peaceful transition finally possible.

With the formation of this transitional government, President Mugabe, Professor Mutambara and I have pledged, in the sight of God, to deliver to the nation a new political dispensation.

This is our promise to you, to our children and to the future generations of Zimbabweans. This is the debt that we owe to our liberation heroes and our democratic heroes who paid the ultimate price so that we could all live together, free from fear, hunger and poverty.

For too long, Zimbabwe has endured violent political polarization. This must end today.

For too long, our people’s hopes for a bright and prosperous future have been betrayed. Instead of hope, their days have been filled with starvation, disease and fear. A culture of entitlement and impunity has brought our nation to the brink of a dark abyss.
This must end today.

Economic collapse has forced millions of our most able to flee the country seeking menial jobs, for which they are often overqualified but underpaid. They have had to leave their children behind to be cared for by the elderly, who do not have the resources to feed them and watch in despair as these flowers of our nation wilt and die.
This must end today.

People of Zimbabwe, I have a vision for our country that will guide me as Prime Minister. I will work to create a society where our values are stronger than the threat of violence, where our children’s future and happiness is more important than present political goals and where a person is free to express an opinion, loudly, openly and publicly without fear of reprisal or repression. A country where jobs are available for those who wish to work, food is available for those that are hungry and where we are united by our respect for the rights and dignity of our fellow citizens. This is the Zimbabwe that I am working towards.

To achieve this vision, my priorities are very clear.

Firstly, we must implement our democratization agenda.

Through parliament, the people’s representatives in the MDC and Zanu PF, will pass legislation to restore the people’s freedoms, create the mechanism through which a people’s constitution can be created, reestablish the rule of law and promote the independent media. Our liberation war was fought to provide political freedoms to all Zimbabweans and we intend to restore them as a matter of urgency.

As I stand before you, more than 30 innocent people continue to languish in jail months are being abducted and illegally detained. While I will not interfere in the judicial process, I will make it a priority to ensure that the law is upheld and that the justice system deals with their cases in a fair, equitable and transparent manner in the shortest possible time frame

People of Zimbabwe, I call upon all of us to put aside our differences, to begin a process of national healing within every community, to work across party lines and look forward together with hope, while learning from a sad past that has so devastated our nation and our people.

Our second priority is tackling the humanitarian crisis with every means possible.

In the immediate days ahead we will focus on the cholera crisis. We will urgently reduce both the number of outbreaks and the unacceptably high mortality level by tackling the causes of the epidemic.

We will also ensure that every Zimbabwean has access to emergency food aid regardless of tribal or political affiliation. In this regard, we will ensure that the people can access humanitarian food aid on a non-partisan basis. I call upon the chiefs and local councilors to work together to ensure that all those that are deserving can access the help they require.

To all of the international relief agencies and donors who have assisted us, let me say thank you on behalf of the people of Zimbabwe. It will be the mandate of this government to do all we can to make it easier to help alleviate the suffering of every Zimbabwean as we tackle the humanitarian issues gripping our country. In this regard, I will ensure greater impact and efficiency in the distribution of emergency and development aid by appointing a senior member of my cabinet to coordinate emergency and development efforts.
In addition to emergency food distribution, the transitional government will make food more available and more affordable by removing all duties on foodstuffs imported into the country. In the short term, we will convene a food summit of all relevant stake holders to help us ensure that no Zimbabwean goes hungry. We will introduce incentives to resuscitate and rehabilitate the local food manufacturing industry and we will move towards self-sufficiency in food production beginning with the next agricultural season.

The third priority is to stabilize the economy.

Out of the 20 fastest growing countries in the world, 15 are in Africa. Indeed, despite the overall economic gloom in the world today, the International Monetary Fund predicts a growth rate of 6.3% in sub Saharan Africa in 2009. As the world slows down, much of Africa is still growing. This is good news for us as we all know, if we work together, Zimbabwe has the skills and resources to contribute to this hopeful trend.

To get our economy going again, we must get the country working again. This starts with an educated and healthy workforce. Our schools, once amongst the best on the continent, can be restored to that standard of excellence. Similarly, our hospitals must be places of healing, with the staff and resources to prevent and treat disease.

The professionals in our civil service are the backbone of our government, making sure that policy decisions are carried out and delivery of government services moves efficiently and accountably. Today our public service has ground to a halt as many of our patriotic government employees can no longer afford to eat, let alone pay for transport to their place of work.

If we are to successfully address our nation’s humanitarian crisis, we must first address the urgent plight of our civil servants.

As Prime Minister I make this commitment that, as from the end of this month, our professionals in the civil service, every health worker, teacher, soldier and policeman will receive their pay in foreign currency until we are able to stabilize the economy.

These hard currency salaries will enable people to go to work, to feed their families and to survive until such time that we can begin to sustain ourselves as a country.

My Fellow Zimbabweans, as we work together to rebuild our country, all of us must do our part. This will sometimes require sacrifices. In this respect, I ask every school be re-opened, and that every member of the civil service is behind his or her desk on Monday providing service to Zimbabweans.

As your Prime Minister, I will ensure that there is a clear distinction between the party and the state.

As your Prime Minister I will be open and honest with you.

It will take time, commitment and unity of purpose to rebuild our great country. I appeal to all Zanu PF supporters and MDC supporters, to recognize the legitimacy and contribution of the other party to our nation’s history and our nation’s future and work together to restore our pride in our people and our country.

We will need help from the international community and I ask them to engage with us to rebuild our nation and to work towards reestablishing a relationship that is not based on humanitarian assistance alone.

People of Zimbabwe, we face many challenges but we are brave and resourceful. By uniting as a nation and a people we can succeed. If you match our efforts with your own, we will succeed, if you match our desires with your own, we will succeed, if you match our dreams for Zimbabwe with your own, we will succeed.

At each point in our proud history we have looked forward not backwards, we have stood for hope not fear, we have believed in love not hate, and we have never lost touch with our democratic values or sight of our democratic goals.

People of Zimbabwe, I ask you to support me as your Prime Minister and the efforts of our new transitional government. I ask you to share my vision for our great country, to work with me to rebuild our nation and to walk with me on this promising phase of our journey to a true and lasting democracy.

May God bless you and May God Bless Zimbabwe