Friends of Zim are committed to bringing about a peaceful transition to a new democratic government in Zimbabwe and an end to the increasingly tyrannical and corrupt rule of Robert Mugabe.
We launched FriendsofZim.com because we believe the best way forward is for the people of Zimbabwe to determine their leader through a free and fair election. Following the March 29th vote, Robert Mugabe embarked on a campaign of terror, beatings and murder.
Dec
18
Swedish Ambassador to Zimbabwe Sten Rylander said Wednesday in Harare that
Sweden is donating another US$5 million in funding for humanitarian relief
efforts in the country.
Correspondent Thomas Chiripasi of VOA’s Studio 7 for Zimbabwe reported from Harare.
The cholera epidemic continues to spread, meanwhile, though the state-controlled Herald newspaper said cases have declined since late November.
Member of Parliament Blessing Chebundo, representing Kwekwe, Midlands, for the MDC wing led by Morgan Tsvangirai, said that in house debate, Health Minister David Pariretyetwa said outbreaks have occurred in new locations including Chirundu and Chegutu.
Communications Officer Heron Holloway of the International Federation of Red Cross in Southern Africa told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA’s Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that new cases have fallen off in some areas, but there are new outbreaks in urban zones.
Nov
21
From AFP-
HARARE (AFP) — Nearly 300 people have died of cholera in Zimbabwe, the United Nations said Friday, as health authorities battled to contain unprecedented countrywide outbreaks.
“The cholera outbreak has taken a national dimension. Newer outbreaks are reported from all provinces.” the UN’s Geneva-based Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.
“The total number of suspected cholera cases in the country stands at 6,072 cases and 294 deaths,” as of November 18, it said.
By Friday, Zimbabwe’s health authorities said the water-borne disease had spread to nine of the troubled southern African nation’s 10 provinces.
“The ministry is battling to control unprecedented cholera outbreaks affecting the country,” Health Minister David Parirenyatwa told the Herald newspaper, a government mouthpiece.
The UN said the latest outbreaks were reported from Beitbridge in the Matabele South province with 700 cases and 20 deaths. Health facilities in the area are reporting an admission rate of 200 patients per day, OCHA said. Read more
Nov
19
SADC causing regional conflict?
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From The Zimbabwean-
Harare - The Zimbabwe crisis has now escalated into a regional conflict. Octogenarian leader Robert Mugabe, emboldened by the failure of SADc leaders to force him to share power with MDC’s Morgan Tsvangirai, has raised the temperature by sabre rattling against Botswana.
The situation is rapidly becoming explosive, with Mugabe accusing Botswana’s President Ian Khama of training MDC militias to attack Zimbabwe. He has provided no shred of evidence that Botswana is doing this, and Botswana has vigorously denied the accusation and invited the region to send a fact-finding mission to investigate. Read more
Nov
9
SADC summit opens in SA
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From the Zimbabwe Guardian-
SOUTHERN African leaders opened a regional summit on Zimbabwe in South Africa on Sunday, hoping to break a deadlock over the allocation of cabinet posts which has prevented formation of a power-sharing government.
The 15-nation Southern African Development Community (Sadc) meeting is trying to break the deadlock between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and put into effect a power-sharing deal reached in September. Read more
Nov
8
From The Zimbabwean-
HARARE – Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders will once again gather in South Africa on November 9 to persuade Zimbabwean negotiators to break the political logjam that has stalled the formation of a power-sharing arrangement.
The summit was called after the 15-member bloc’s security Troika failed to exert its influence on the Zanu (PF) leader, Robert Mugabe and MDC leaders, Morgan Tsvangirai and Athur Mutambara to resolve their differences on the composition of a new unity government outlined under the September 15 power-sharing agreement. Read more
Nov
2
HARARE - President Morgan Tsvangirai has expressed shock at the high level of starvation countrywide and pledged that once in government, the MDC would place the food crisis as a top priority issue.
Tsvangirai addressed three report-back rallies in Marondera and Manicaland on October 25 and 26. The people narrated harrowing experiences of how they go for days without food and are surviving on wild fruits.
Tsvangirai said he was saddened and told the crowd told that the levels of hunger had reached unprecedented levels.
The Zanu (PF) regime has barred most aid organisations from distributing food
aid in the country. Tsvangirai said the MDC was still committed to the power sharing
deal with Zanu (PF) provided that ministries were shared equitably.
President Tsvangirai has been addressing feed back rallies across the country explaining the party’s position on the political settlement signed by the three principals of the major political parties on September 15, 2008.
Oct
31
NYT says “Zimbabwe Waits”
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From the New York Times
President Robert Mugabe is responsible for much of Zimbabwe’s terrible suffering. But so long as Africa’s leaders allow Mr. Mugabe and his henchmen to bully them into silence — with phony claims of anti-colonialism and national sovereignty — they are fully complicit.
Earlier this week, leaders from South Africa, Angola, Mozambique and Swaziland said they had failed to find a way to implement a power-sharing agreement between Mr. Mugabe and the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. They handed the problem over to a summit of the 15-member Southern African Development Community. The group must come together quickly and be ready to bring whatever pressure is necessary to force Mr. Mugabe to finally cede real power. Read more
Oct
27
Mbeki reportedly “upbeat” on Zim progress
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From CNN International:
HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) — South African former leader Thabo Mbeki said he was “very optimistic” about the chances of a breakthrough in talks Monday to resolve the deadlock between Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe.
Mbeki and several leaders from the 12-member Southern African Development Community were in Harare Monday to meet with Tsvangirai and Mugabe in a bid to salvage the power-sharing deal signed last month.
The deal is seen by many as the only hope for ending Zimbabwe’s political turmoil and pulling the country from economic ruin.
Under the agreement, Tsvangirai, who heads the Movement for Democratic Change, becomes prime minister while Mugabe remains president. The deal has not taken effect as the two sides have argued over control of key ministries. Read more
Oct
26
From The Zimbabwean:
MDC demands immediate end to harassment, arrests of civic leaders
The MDC notes with concern the continued arrests and beatings of civic society leaders and activists, further pointing to the intransigence of Zanu PF in letting democracy thrive in the country in line with the new political dispensation.
The MDC notes with concern the arrest and detention of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), Jennie Williams in Bulawayo for staging a peaceful sit-in at government offices demanding the immediate formation of an inclusive government and the access of food by the starving millions in the country.
Williams, Nokuthula Mahlangu and a group of other concerned women were demanding food aid for millions of starving Zimbabweans and the immediate formation of an inclusive government. Read more
Oct
22
World condemns Mugabe
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From The Zimbabwean:
International pressure is rising fast as the rest of Africa,and the international community
loses patience with Robert Mugabe’s open flouting of both the terms and the spirit of the power sharing
accord.The Mugabe regime and the state-controlled media continue to parrot the tired refrain that personal travel restrictions against the Zanu (PF) hierarchy and an arms embargo, which they call
sanctions, are responsible for the country’s economic collapse. chief propagandist George charamba has
now blamed sanctions for the state’s failure to issue MDC president and Prime Minister designate, Morgan Tsvangirai with a passport for more than a year now. This is despite the fact that any Zimbabwean
prepared to pay in US dollars can get a “fast-track” passport within 48 hours.Botswana this week hardened
its stand against Mugabe as his country’s deepening crisis threatened to have a greater impact on the whole region, with the neighbouring country expressing outrage at the government’s refusal to
give Tsvangirai a new passport to attend an emergency summit of regional leaders in Swaziland on Monday. Read more
Opinion
Starving the Beast that is Mugabe’s regime
Uncovering the Web Putting the 2010 World Cup At Risk
Obituary: The Death of Mbeki’s Credibility
SILENT WITNESS
The collapse of Mugabe’s African support
SHAMELESS, WITLESS, GUTLESS
Zimbabwe: China’s Tibet in Southern Africa
Electoral Cleansing, the first stage in Mugabe’s election plans
Around 50,000 suspected of supporting the opposition have already been displaced from their homes. 65 have been killed so far. The opposition is forced to act like a banned organisation – its rallies are banned, access to TV and radio is severely curtailed.
Download the Human Rights Watch report on the political violence being perpetrated in Zimbabwe.