Under
his rule the health and well-being of his people have dropped dramatically,
which is as much an abuse of human rights as arbitrary arrest and torture.
According to the World Health Organization, Zimbabwe has the world’s shortest
life expectancy—37 years for men and 34 for women. It also has the greatest
percentage of orphans (about 25%, says UNICEF) and the worst annual inflation
rate (1,281% as of last month). He last allowed an election in 2002 but
“won” only after having his leading opponent arrested
for treason. Robert Mugabe's violent land seizures created a
ruckus in Zimbabwe where at least 4,000 WHITE farmers have been evicted
from their land, leading to the collapse of that country's economy. But
worse, Mugabe razed shanty towns where 200,000 poor blacks were living
and sent them packing. He defended the arrest of thousands of street traders,
which has left the 200,000 people homeless and jobless. It was a "vigorous
clean-up campaign to restore sanity" to Zimbabwe's cities.
His wife GRACE MUGABE has a fascination with diamonds, has her own diamond
biz, and when she felt poachers were too close to her mountains, sent helicopters
in to massacre diamond miners, where they were treading mud to find stones.
BBC found the men's graves. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/264969
SEE AMAZING
GRACE. STALIN IN SKIRTS
In an address to parliament, Mr Mugabe said the evictions were part of an effort to 'curb crime'. The ruling party accuses black-market traders of sabotaging the economy.
"The current chaotic state of affairs where [small businesses] operated
...
in unregulated and crime-ridden areas could not have been tolerated
for
much longer," the president said at the state opening of parliament.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) claims the demolitions
were an attack on its urban supporters, and its 41 MPs boycotted
parliament's opening session in protest.
But a two-day strike called by opponents of Mr Mugabe enjoyed limited
support yesterday, as schools, banks and most businesses remained open.
Paramilitary units in riot gear were deployed in the capital, Harare,
sealing off a large part of the city centre before the opening of
parliament.
Police had warned for days that they would "deal ruthlessly" with anyone
joining the strike.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions said police had arrested three
of its
activists for organising the strike in the second-largest city, Bulawayo.
Police denied making the arrests, dismissing the strike as a "non-event".
For the past three weeks, police using sledgehammers and bulldozers
have
destroyed shanty town homes and traders' stalls in a campaign named
Operation Murambatsvina.
The evictions were condemned by church groups yesterday. In a statement,
Roman Catholic bishops described it as "a grave crime".
"We warn the perpetrators ... history will hold you individually
accountable," six Zimbabwean bishops said.
Despite international condemnation, police continued to drive out residents
of at least one Harare township yesterday.
An opposition MP, Trudy Stevenson, told AP: "Police are now in Hatcliffe
... rounding everyone up and piling them on to lorries. Their belongings
are being put on separate lorries, so they fear they will lose everything.
"They are not being told where they are being taken, but they have the
impression it is far away and that they might be kept in a holding
camp
under guard."
An opposition statement urged Zimbabweans to take part in the strike
to
protest at the actions of "this criminal regime".
But critics said the opposition had undermined the strike by waiting
until
Wednesday to back it.
"I think the MDC has failed to provide dynamic leadership," said Mike
Davies, chairman of the Combined Harare Residents' Association, one
of the
organisers of the strike.
In his speech to parliament, Mr Mugabe attacked foreign critics of his
human rights record. He called complaints about the fairness of the
March
election a "smokescreen for their neocolonialist intentions".
He said She said.
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