Apr 13, 9:17 AM EDT


Mugabe Skips Regional Summit on Zimbabwe

By MICHELLE FAUL
Associated Press Writer


LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) -- Southern African leaders discussed Zimbabwe's deepening electoral crisis in a marathon summit that ended before dawn Sunday with a declaration that failed to criticize the absent President Robert Mugabe.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who claims to have won the March 29 election outright, had wanted the leaders to press Mugabe to resign after 28 years as Zimbabwe's leader


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT

__________________
And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale

Mugabe Isolated In Southern Africa As Arms Ship Barred From Ports By Blessing Zulu
Washington
22 April 2008



A Chinese ship carrying arms for Zimbabwe has also become freighted in recent days with diplomatic significance as the vessel has sought accommodation and offloading in subsequent Southern African countries, emphasizing Harare's increasing isolation.

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa urged African states Tuesday to bar the An Yue Jiang from their waters, saying unloading and transporting of its cargo of weapons to Zimbabwe could deepen the crisis there following elections in late March.

South African dockworkers refused to unload the ship, said to carry 3 million rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades and 2,500 mortar shells. Angolan and Mozambican officials subsequently signaled it is unwelcome in their ports.

http://voanews.com/english/Africa/Zi...4-22-voa61.cfm

__________________
And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale

Zimbabwe Newspaper Calls for Transitional Government
By VOA News
23 April 2008



An article in Zimbabwe's state-run newspaper calls for the country's ruling party and the opposition to establish a transitional unity government to organize new elections.


Robert Mugabe
The article published Wednesday in the Herald newspaper says the transitional government should be led by President Robert Mugabe. It also calls for the Southern African Development Community to help Zimbabwe write a new constitution.

Zimbabwe's government has denied all accusations of state-sponsored political violence.

The violence allegedly began soon after the country's disputed March 29 presidential election. The MDC says its candidate Morgan Tsvangirai defeated Mr. Mugabe. But, no results have been released, prompting accusations that Mr. Mugabe is trying to cling to power.

The opposition says Mr. Mugabe's government is holding back the results so it can alter them and orchestrate a run-off. The electoral commission began a recount in selected districts Saturday over MDC objections.



http://voanews.com/english/2008-04-23-voa17.cfm

__________________
And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale

In Zimbabwe Raid, Hundreds in Opposition Party Detained
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By GRAHAM BOWLEY and CELIA W. DUGGER
Published: April 26, 2008
Armed police officers raided the headquarters of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party in Harare, the capital, on Friday, detaining hundreds of opposition supporters, a spokesman for the party said.

The action appeared to be one of the most blatant crackdowns on the opposition since the disputed elections nearly four weeks ago.

The spokesman, Nqobizitha Mlilo, said in an e-mailed statement that about 200 to 250 heavily armed police officers had raided the offices of the party, the Movement for Democratic Change. Other reports put the number of police officers at “dozens.”

In a separate raid on the offices of independent election observers, the police seized vote count materials, The Associated Press reported.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/wo...rssnyt&emc=rss

__________________
And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale

Apr 30, 5:58 AM EDT


Rights group: Zimbabwe's army unleashing 'terror'

By DONNA BRYSON
Associated Press Writer

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) -- A leading human rights group accused Zimbabwe's army Wednesday of working with ruling party militants to unleash "terror and violence" against dissent.

New York-based Human Rights Watch joined other rights groups and Zimbabwe's opposition party in linking violence since last month's presidential vote to the security forces and so-called "war veterans" - groups loyal to autocratic President Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe's regime has countered that the opposition groups are responsible for the violence, even arresting scores of people last week, including women and their nursing babies, who the opposition says had taken shelter from the violence at its headquarters in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT

__________________
And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale

Tsvangirai 'wins' Zimbabwe vote

Morgan Tsvangirai says he won the poll and Mr Mugabe should step down

Zimbabwe's electoral commission has told an all-party meeting that Morgan Tsvangirai won almost 48% in March's presidential election, reports say.

The result would mean the Movement for Democratic Change leader is 2% short of the 50% required to avoid a run-off against President Mugabe, who won 43%.

A source at the meeting told the BBC the figures were tabled at the start of the process to verify the final result.

Earlier, Mr Tsvangirai insisted he had won an outright victory in the poll.

On Wednesday, government sources told reporters that Mr Tsvangirai had beaten the president, but had not won enough of the vote to avoid a second round.

The opposition and human rights groups have accused the authorities of waging a campaign of violence to ensure Mr Mugabe wins any run-off.

__________________
And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale

This is great to hear. Two years ago, I read the book by Andrew Meldrum, Where We Have No Hope. It was interesting reading about Mugabe. He was a mad man. He was an African Hitler.

No was about it. This pig is still in power and some one is gonna have to push him out.

__________________
And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale

I was living in Zimbabwe in 1999. It was pretty crazy then, but no where near as bad as now. But even then no one dared speak poorly of "The Old Man." In fact if you were a store owner and didn't have a picture of him in your store front, no one was suprised when you "disappeared."

The fact that the recount shows that the MDC got only 47% of the vote is a farce. In fact, a free and fair election is a total farce.

The Zimbabwean people are the most docile bunch I have met, but I am seriously frustrated at how far they are willing to be backed into a corner. I am sure it will be ugly, and I do not envy the Zimbabwean people's situation right now, but I wish they would have an outright riot. They have no food, their money is worth nothing and they have an aged, corrupt president who is reaping all the benefits of being a tyrant. When is enough enough?

Zimbabwe opposition willing to share power with ruling party

By ANGUS SHAW
Associated Press Writer

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Zimbabwe's opposition said Friday it was willing to share power with the ruling party, but not with longtime President Robert Mugabe.

Left unresolved was whether a runoff election would be held. Mugabe said he was willing to take part in a second round of voting after official results showed him in second place.

However, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change was cool to the idea, saying a runoff could not be held now in a climate of violence and repression.

Earlier in the day, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission released results from the March 29 presidential election that showed opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai winning the most votes, but not the simple majority needed to avoid a runoff with Mugabe, the second-place finisher.

Tsvangirai's deputy in the Movement for Democratic Change, Tendai Biti, acknowledged at a news conference that skipping a second round is a gamble that could result in another term for the 84-year-old Mugabe, who ruled since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT

__________________
And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale