Opposition hails AU report on Zimbabwe

Cape Town, South Africa
04 January 2006 05:55

An African Union (AU) report condemning Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's human rights record has been hailed by South Africa's official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA).

The report of the African Union's Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights -- meeting in Banjul, The Gambia -- has urged Mugabe to allow an AU delegation to go on a fact-finding mission to his country.

It also expressed concern at the continuing violations and the deteriorations of the human rights situation in Zimbabwe. It said there was a "growing culture of impunity".

The report referred to the violations of fundamental and collective rights resulting from forced evictions being carried out by the Zimbabwe government.

The commission found that Mugabe's government was responsible for violating the African Union charter -- which Zimbabwe had signed -- and the United Nations declaration of human rights.

In a statement on Wednesday, DA national chairperson Joe Seremane, a member of Parliament, said there was a growing consensus among the African community of nations "that human rights, accountability and good governance must be placed above the politics of tyranny".

Seremane noted that the report called for an end to internal displacements caused by government evictions, the repeal of several repressive laws and free access for international aid groups.

The DA said South African President Thabo Mbeki must take stock of these findings and adjust South Africa's strategy for dealing with Zimbabwe accordingly.

"We must use whatever diplomatic means are at our disposal, whether multilaterally through the AU and United Nations, or unilaterally, to pressure the Mugabe regime into ceasing its attacks on human rights and the rule of law. South Africa must unequivocally condemn the human rights abuses as well as the muzzling of the media and free political activity in Zimbabwe, even if only to affirm our own democratic values. If we fail to do so we will have failed the people of Zimbabwe, as well as ourselves," said Seremane. - I-Net Bridge

ANC 'has thrown away moral compass'

Donwald Pressly | Cape Town, South Africa
05 January 2006 04:20

The decision to allow former deputy president Jacob Zuma to campaign for the ruling African National Congress in the upcoming local government poll is "deeply hypocritical", said the official opposition Democratic Alliance on Thursday.

It was reacting to a statement from ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe, who said Zuma would be allowed to campaign as a member of the ANC.

Acting DA leader Joe Seremane said on Thursday that Motlanthe's statement "confirms once again that the governing party has thrown away its moral compass".

Also on Thursday -- at a press conference concerning this weekend's launch of the ANC's local government election campaign on Sunday -- ANC deputy secretary general Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele said there was "no contradiction" between earlier statements about Zuma and "Comrade Jacob Zuma's participation in the local government election".

Although the position being taken about Zuma remains blurred, it is apparent that he can canvass and participate in campaigns -- but may not pronounce from a public podium.

Motlanthe was merely quoted as saying that Zuma would campaign under stringent conditions.

Meanwhile, Seremane said South African President Thabo Mbeki had stated previously that corruption in municipalities should be rooted out and had condemned the self-seeking spirit in the ANC.

"Given that Zuma is facing serious corruption charges, which have already cost him his position as deputy president [of South Africa], the decision to allow him to campaign is entirely hypocritical."

Motlanthe's announcement raises questions too about how seriously the ANC leadership regards the rape charge against Zuma and it casts doubt on the sincerity of the ruling movement's rhetoric on moral regeneration "and other such high-sounding posturing".

"Zuma's appearance on the campaign trail will only serve to remind voters of the moral decay that runs through the ANC, from its senior ranks down to its mayors and councillors. It will also promote a culture of tolerance toward corruption and maladministration in our country," said Seremane.

Zuma will be in court on February 13 -- just 10 days after Mbeki delivers his State of the Nation address at the opening of Parliament -- to defend himself against an allegation that he raped a 31-year-old woman in his Johannesburg home in November.

He will face two counts of corruption resulting from a finding by Durban High Court Judge Hilary Squires that he had a "generally corrupt relationship" with his financial adviser Schabir Shaik, who was found guilty of corruption last year.

Zuma's corruption trial begins on July 31.

Shortly after the his appearance in a magistrate's court on the rape charge last year, the national working committee of the ANC recommended to the national executive committee "that he should not act or pronounce in the capacity of deputy president of the ANC for the duration of this trial".

Zuma was dismissed as deputy president of South Africa in June last year, but remains the ruling movement's second-in-command. -- I-Net Bridge

Who is in charge of fighting crime?

Johannesburg, South Africa
03 January 2006 02:25
A "lacklustre" performance by Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula and the "disappearance from the radar" of National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi have left the Democratic Alliance wondering who is in charge of fighting crime, the party said in a statement on Tuesday.

DA MP Roy Jankielsohn, the party's spokesperson for safety and security, said 2005 was a bad year for Nqakula, and Selebi disappeared from the limelight.

"It is never clear who is leading the fight against crime," Jankielsohn said, adding "there is a glaring lack of political leadership."

This lack of leadership is one of 10 safety and security issues that the party will be focusing on this year.

The others include police personnel policies, police equipment, the Firearms Control Act, parliamentary accountability, crime statistics, police corruption and misconduct and the improvement of the criminal justice system.

Jankielsohn is concerned that the African National Congress "both inside and outside the SAPS [South African Police Service]" might be using the police for political purposes.

"The recent investigation into the Zuma rape charge, including constant leaks to the press from unnamed sources within the SAPS, smacked of a political cat-and-mouse game. The infighting within the ruling party has spilled over into our law-enforcement agencies and has become a threat to national security in South Africa."

One clear threat, Jankielsohn said, is South Africa's "porous borders".

"The security vacuum in rural areas, especially along our borders, must not be allowed to develop further."

He said that it is especially attacks from Lesotho that are of the greatest concern.

"If other governments are not able to restrain their citizens from committing crimes in South Africa, the SAPS, with the support of the South African National Defence Force, should be able to carry out hot pursuit operations to retrieve South African property and apprehend perpetrators of crimes."

The DA highlighted what it calls "critical vacancies".

"Currently shortages of crime-prevention personnel required to ensure optimal staffing are sitting at 46% (2 235) in Gauteng, 49% (940) in the Free State, and 45% (2 724) in KwaZulu-Natal. There is also a 28% (1 372) shortage of detectives in Gauteng and a 19% (541) shortage of detectives in the Western Cape."

The party said there are a further 122 vacancies at the forensic crime laboratory and 152 vacancies at the criminal record centre.

"Although government continues to make promises regarding the recruitment of additional police officials and the training of additional detectives, it should never have allowed this situation to develop in the first place," Jankielsohn said.

He said the DA will be focusing on these issues in Parliament. -- Sapa

Farm attacks: Farmer executed

Roedtan - A local farmer was forced to kneel next to his bakkie at the gate to the farm Doringfontein before being shot in the forehead. Hennie van Vuuren, 53, had minutes before found his wife Celia's blood-spattered body when he arrived at the farm after having dropped off workers. Celia, 53, had been shot dead in the garden in front of their house at about 18:0 on Wednesday. The attackers did not take anything. TLU spokesperson Dries Joubert described the attacks on farmers as "low-intensity war". "The fact that nothing was stolen, proves once and for all that the police are wrong in claiming that the motive is crime." The chair of the Roedtan South farmers' association, Hendrik Botha, said he and Van Vuuren had been at an auction and year-end function earlier in the day. According to Botha, Van Vuuren had tried to flee the attackers after he'd found Celia's body. "But they shot at him and hit him in the leg through the bakkie's door," Botha said. It is not clear what happened afterwards, but it is believed that the farm's electronic gate opened too slowly for Botha to escape the killers. "Hennie was pulled from the bakkie at the gate, forced to stand on his knees - in a similar manner to being executed - and shot in the forehead. "We found his body next to the bakkie," a shocked Botha said. "This was no farm robbery," said Botha. "It was murder, plain and simple." Agri SA's Kiewiet Ferreira said given attacks on farmers, it was becoming increasingly difficult to convince them not to take the law into their own hands.

Source: News24.Com URL: http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1851610,00.html

Robbers are winning

Organised gangs of robbers had a lucrative time the past months with their cash in-transit robberies and the robbing of shopping complexes. During November eighteen malls were robbed while ten in-transit robberies took place. These were only the reported robberies. The robberies were so well planned that the question again arises if the defence force is not involved. The fact that R4 rifles were used in some of the attacks increases the possibility of armed forces being involved. Political parties said outright that members of the previous armed forces of the ANC and APLA are involved.

Meanwhile the police said it is not their task to protect malls and money-carrying vehicles in transit. The official opposition suggested that the police force re-employ previous expert police officers. The party's spokesperson, John Moodey, said only experienced officers can control the upsurge in robberies. Many experienced white officers were dismissed or left the service out of frustration. The new generation of police officers are not experienced enough and their training is questionable. Apparently the police force still rids itself of experienced whites. The Appeals Court even criticised the police commissioner for upgrading a post and then getting rid of the person who holds the post. Today we reap the bitter fruits of this discrimination. Management is poor and the police force cannot control the upsurge in crime. The infrastructure is crumbling and many officers are not crime-orientated. They attach more value to the painting of Old Republican Flags in the Northern province than persecuting murder gangs.

http://www.realiteit.co.za

16 December - The covenant of Bloedrivier.

"It is the evening of 9 December 1838. The recently elected commandant general Andries Pretorius, with 464 Voortrekkers, some servants and wagon drivers, three British settlers and some 120 “tame” Zulus draw a laager at Wasbank, near the current Dundee. They are on their way to uMgundgundlovu, capital of the Zulu king, Dingane to try and break the might of the Zulu force that has caused them so much heartache and sorrow. First the Voortrekker leader Piet Retief and his men were murdered after land negotiations on 6 February 1838 and then hundreds of Voortrekkers and their servants died at Blaaukrantz and Weenen, killed by the Zulu force.

Sarel Cilliers takes the lead and the handful of men solemnly promise that:

If He would protect them and deliver the enemy into their hands, they would build a House in His name and that the day of their triumph would be known unto the last generation because it would be commemorated in His honour;

What followed is familiar to most of the older generation of Afrikaners. The battle of Blood River that took place on the banks of the Ncome River on 16 December 1838, was, according to most historians a turning point in the history of South Africa. The Voortrekkers in their ‘fortified’ laager and with their front-loading rifles and 2-3 cannons repelled wave after wave of Zulus whose force consisted of between 9 000 and 12 000 men. By 11:00 that morning the Zulu forces began to pull back. By this time they had already lost 3 000 warriors on the battlefield while only three Voortrekkers were wounded.

It was an absolute miracle to the Voortrekkers – an act of mercy from God and even though the Zulus were not totally defeated, their victory initiated the way to an independent state for the Voortrekkers in Natal.

Throughout the years historians and others have analysed, criticized and looked at the occurrences of 16 December from different perspectives. Today, while our country’s history is being “re-written”, Afrikaner historians are blamed of distorting and fabricating the facts. Despite this, very little in Afrikaner history draws as much attention as the Covenant of Blood River.

For more information about the Blood River site, please contact Cecilia Kruger or Estelle Pretorius at the Voortreker Monument (012) 326 6770.
For more information about the commemoration of the Covenant on site or at the Voortrekker Monument please contact Deon van Onselen at the same number"
Covenant of Blood River

Even to this day, Afrikaners (also known as Boers, who are decendants of the old Voortrekkers) commemorate this day, viewing the 'ritual' not only as a fulfillment of their duties, but also as a renewal of the covenant of 1838. History repeats itself, as the Boers are in the same situation they were in during 1838. The gruesome torture, rape and murder of Boer men, women and babies are commonplace in South Africa. Violent crimes are not only a plague in the country, but also in metropolitan areas. South Africa is ranked as the country with both the highest murder rate and rape rate in the world. The Boers are indeed in the same position they were in in 1838.

The SA government, an (ANC) autocratic government who are the allies of Robert Mugabe (Iran, China, India, Russia and also Zimbabwe's Zanu-PF, who are notorious for land evictions and other human right infringements), are currently attempting to "erase" the day of the covenant by euphemistically renaming it to "Reconciliation Day". (Note the reporter's biased reporting).

Desperate attempts of the South African government to try and discredit the covenant of Bloedrivier should be shunned and disregarded with the utmost of discontent that their fallacies deserve.

To all the people of South Africa (Especially the Boers):
May you find the freedom that you have longed for for so long!

Sources:
http://www.voortrekkermon.org.za/Bloedrivier/BREnglish/B01.02_The%20Covenant.htm
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national&articleid=259404
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boer

WHY SA IS THE COUNTRY WITH THE HIGHEST AIDS PREVELANCE RATE

As shown in this cartoon, SA is the country that has been hit the worst by the AIDS epidemic. It is, however, not a random stroke of bad luck but rather a deadly combination of ignorance, incompetence and bad governance (by the ANC) that lead to this disaster.

What is more disturbing, as mentioned in one of our earlier articles, is that the SA government is actually telling AIDS sufferers that ARV's is overkill and that they should rather use vitamins! The SA minister of health, Manto Tshabalala Msimang even proclaimed that AIDS can be cured by using garlic. Read "Do the ANC benefit if AIDS-sufferers die sooner"?.

SA 'accepting Aids as reality'

Nearly half of South Africans aged 15 and older find nothing wrong with marrying an HIV-positive person and would not have a problem having sex with them.

This is according to the Nelson Mandela Foundation-commissioned Second South African HIV Prevalence, Incidence, Behaviour and Communications Survey released on Wednesday, on the eve of World Aids Day.

"These results suggest that South Africans are accepting HIV/Aids as a reality in South Africa and that stigmatisation in society is becoming less of a factor, especially in urban areas," said principal investigator Olive Shisana, CEO of the Human Sciences Research Council.

The study found that 90,7% of South Africans polled were willing to care for HIV-positive family members and that 79,8% were against the exclusion of HIV-positive children from schools.

Although South Africans acknowledged the government's efforts in dealing with HIV/Aids, a significant number were unhappy with the financial and human resources allocated to dealing with the scourge.

However, only 47% of male, employed respondents and 44,2% of working women -- 50% of them blacks and coloureds, and less than 40% whites and Indians -- were willing to pay an Aids tax.

A "worrying trend" is confusion among older South Africans about whether HIV cause Aids, the effectiveness of condoms in curbing infections, and the purpose of anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment.

It is unlikely this could be attributed to the debate over the effectiveness of ARVs between vitamin salesman Matthias Rath and the Treatment Action Campaign, said Warren Parker, of the Centre for Aids Development Research and Evaluation. While this could be a contributing factor, the cause is more likely "general misunderstanding", he said.

The study found that 66% of those interviewed did not think they were at risk of being infected -- because they were faithful to one partner, trusted their partner and always used condoms.

However, some of these respondents were later found to be HIV-positive in tests conducted as part of the study.

"Put it in another way, over two million people who are HIV-positive in South Africa do not think they are at risk. This means they may be unaware of their risk of potentially infecting others," said Shisana. -- Sapa

DA opposes air-force training deal with Zim

21 November 2005 02:49

The opposition Democratic Alliance party has urged the government not to use Zimbabwean flying instructors to train South African Air Force (SAAF) pilots.

"The proposal is severely flawed on a number of accounts," said DA defence spokesperson Rafeek Shah, questioning if Zimbabwean Air Force instructors have sufficient knowledge of, or experience with, SAAF aircraft.

"They, for example, have no experience of our most basic trainer aircraft, the Astra Pilatus," he said in a statement released on Monday.

His concerns followed a military agreement signed last Thursday between Zimbabwe and South Africa under which Zimbabwean flying instructors will train SAAF pilots.

"Given that there are not even enough trained South African personnel to train pilots on the forthcoming Hawks, it is highly unlikely that the Zimbabweans will be able to offer training assistance on these aircraft, let alone the even more sophisticated Gripen fighter jets," Shah said.

He said these fighters, part of the country's controversial arms-acquisition process, have highly sophisticated avionics, "much more advanced than anything the Zimbabweans would have been exposed to".

He said there is every chance that as a result of this agreement, the South African taxpayer will have to pay for Zimbabwean pilots to be trained on the new jets in order to train South African cadets.

"It is morally bankrupt for South Africa to recruit instructors from the Zimbabwean military given its appalling human rights record. It is truly bizarre that instead of sending a clear message that human rights abuses will not be tolerated, we have chosen to enter even closer cooperation," he said. -- Sapa

SA to work with Zimbabwe's spies

South African and Zimbabwe have signed an agreement to increase co-operation on defence and security matters.

The two neighbours undertook to share security information and to co-operate in enforcing immigration laws.

After the signing, South Africa's intelligence minister scolded a journalist who raised questions about Zimbabwe's record on human rights.

Details of the deal were not released but Zimbabwe's secret police is accused of torturing opposition activists.

South Africa is a key player in attempts to negotiate an end to Zimbabwe's political crisis.

President Thabo Mbeki has been criticised at home and abroad for not putting more pressure on President Robert Mugabe's government to end abuses.

Zimbabwe prayers

"This week's historic meeting further consolidates a long-standing socio-political and economic relationship between our two countries," South African Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils said at the signing of the agreement in Cape Town on Thursday.

After the signing, a journalist asked Mr Kasrils how South Africa, with a "good human rights track record", could sign agreements with Zimbabwe, which had a "poor human rights record".

Mr Kasrils apologised to his Zimbabwean counterpart, Didymus Mutasa, for the question.

"We have very strong ties with our neighbour and we are indebted to our neighbour for achieving freedom and liberty," Mr Kasrils said.

Mr Mutasa suggested praying for the journalist.

"Lord forgive him for he does not know what he is saying," Mr Mutasa said.

Numerous activists from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change have said they have been detained and assaulted by Zimbabwe's secret police - the Central Intelligence Organisation.

Thursday's agreement also provides for South Africa pilots and instructors to be trained in Zimbabwe.

'Failure'

Also on Thursday, Zimbabwean and international human rights groups called on the African Union to speak out against human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.

"The silence of African leaders on Zimbabwe represents a failure to honour their commitments to the human rights of ordinary Africans," said a statement from a human rights coalition that includes Amnesty International, Zimbabwe's Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions and Zimbabwe Lawyers or Human Rights.

"Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans have seen their homes demolished. Now desperate, displaced and homeless people are being denied the aid they so badly need - and forced evictions and demolitions continue to take place."

The UN says 700,000 people were affected by a Zimbabwe government clampdown on illegal housing and trading earlier this year.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4448858.stm

Published: 2005/11/18 11:19:11 GMT

© BBC MMV


*This is the extent of South Africa's unholy alliance with Robert Mugabe's terror-regime.